Concerns over domestic violence changes

It has been claimed that changes to the domestic violence laws of Britain and Northern Ireland could make the problem worse.

Solicitors across the country often report low numbers of domestic violence victims coming to see them, with the crime being notoriously underreported. In an effort to crack down on the issue, the relevant parts of the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004 are set to come into force in July this year.

However, it has been claimed that the changes could force the problem even further underground by criminalising domestic violence even more.

Writing in the Times, District Judge Stephen Gerlis explains that dealing with domestic violence should be concentrated on protecting the victim, but warns that increased criminalisation through the new laws - which will see aggressors prosecuted in the criminal courts instead of the family courts - focus mainly on the criminal rather than the victim.

He argues that, with the prosecution no longer in the hands of the victim, but instead taken on by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), fewer people may be willing to come forward to start a process over which they will have little control.

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