Women’s Aid responds to the Ministry of Justice calling for more lawyers to stop domestic abusers interrogating victims

Lucy Hadley, head of policy at Women’s Aid, comments:  

“We are pleased that the Government has listened to our concerns about the Qualified Legal Representatives scheme, outlined in a joint letter we sent earlier this year. We raised serious concerns about the implementation of this policy and the low numbers of legal representatives signing up to it. A lack of lawyers undertaking this role has meant that despite cross-examination being banned in the Domestic Abuse Act, survivors have continued to face it in family courts.

“We hope that the introduction of travel expenses will enable more lawyers to come forward. Despite this, issues remain with the training provided and whether the fees that QLRs get for this role are competitive. We need to see robust monitoring and evaluation of how the ban on cross-examination is working to ensure survivors are protected from this horrific practice.”