Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Statutory Guidance

Today, the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 statutory guidance has been published. This has been designed as a framework document to support organisations to identify and respond to domestic abuse.

Farah Nazeer, chief executive of Women’s Aid said:

“We welcome this statutory guidance on the comprehensive definition of domestic abuse – recognising all forms of domestic abuse and including children as victims in their own right. This will help to ensure survivors of domestic abuse- who are overwhelmingly women and children- are able to access better support. Alongside this guidance, we call for a commitment in the victims’ bill to ensure community-based domestic abuse services are given sustainable, essential funding to support women and children survivors.

 

“We know that migrant survivors of domestic abuse face extra barriers to accessing support, so it is disappointing to see the absence of any commitment in the guidance to tackling this. We hope to see resources committed to specialist services for Black and minoritised women,  to help overcome these barriers and provide the support these survivors need. All women deserve a life free from abuse and Women’s Aid will not rest until all women and children are supported.”