Domestic Abuse Act 2021
The Domestic Abuse Act 2021 is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom. The act included provisions necessary to ratify the Istanbul Convention. Much of the content within the Act is still much debated. The Act is intended to help tackle domestic violence in the United Kingdom, which has been referred to as a "silent epidemic." There have been numerous suggestions to address the Act's protection of victims of domestic violence. The United Kingdom has also received criticism for taking eight years to carry out commitments following the Istanbul Convention. The Act Definitions The Act created the first statutory definition of domestic abuse to ensure that "domestic abuse is properly understood, considered unacceptable and actively challenged across statutory agencies and in public attitudes." The Act has created a genderless, broad definition which has not greatly expanded on the pre-existing cross-governmental definition. The definition is described in Section 1, which states that the behaviour must be "abusive" and the parties involved must be "personally connected" to each other. Section 1(3) describes abusive behaviour as: "physical or sexual abuse; violent or threatening behaviour; controlling or coercive behaviour; economic abuse; psychological, emotional or other abuse; and it does not matter whether the behaviour consists of a single incident or a course of conduct." Section 2 describes relationships which are "personally connected" to each other, which includes relationships where the parties have been or are married, engaged, civil partners, in a relationship, or are related. This definition has come under criticism by charities preventing violence against women predominantly due to the genderless approach that it has taken. Women are not recognized by the Act as being disproportionately affected by domestic abuse in Britain. Statistics across various sectors and identity groups demonstrate that women are experience higher rates of domestic abuse than men due to historical and "patriarchal dynamics surrounding the use of violence." The Government justified this decision to "ensure that all victims and all types of domestic abuse are sufficiently captured." Children The Act defines a child who witness domestic abuse as victims of abuse. This recognize the detrimental effects of children experiencing domestic abuse within the home and how they are classed as the "invisible victims." Section 3 defines "Children as victims of domestic abuse" as an individual under 18 years who "sees or hears, or experiences the effects of the abuse" and is related to both or one of the parties. Domestic Abuse Protection Orders The Domestic Abuse Act 2021 created a new Domestic Abuse Protection Order ('DAPO') and Notice ('DAPN') which aims to unify the current protection orders within the UK. This is following aims to offer "maximum protection to all victims" of domestic violence in the UK in order to prevent the violence from recurring in the home. The United Kingdom currently recognizes four protection orders for victims of domestic abuse: Occupation Orders, Non-molestation Orders, Restraining Orders and Domestic Violence Protection Orders. There is confusion surrounding when these orders apply and what conditions they can impose, with DAPOs