Labour conference: Domestic abuse register to tackle violence against women

Perpetrators of domestic violence would be made to sign a register if Labour wins power, the party has announced.

Shadow justice secretary Steve Reed said their behaviour would be monitored in the same way as sex offenders.

Those convicted of serial offences and stalking would have to give personal details to the police and notify of any change in circumstances.

Mr Reed told the Labour's conference the plan would help tackle an "epidemic of violence" against women and girls.

He argued that the register would allow for better police and law enforcement monitoring of perpetrators and help to identify offending patterns more quickly.

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Mr Reed said: "Under the Conservatives, criminals are repeatedly let off while victims are being let down.

"Labour will get a grip of the Tories' failure to tackle the epidemic of violence against women and girls - with improved monitoring of domestic abuse perpetrators, longer jail terms for rapists, and more rights for victims.

"It's time to put those suffering at the hands of offenders first."

Labour pointed to figures showing domestic violence offences recorded by the police in England and Wales increased by nearly 10% to 909,504 incidents in the year to April 2022.

Three-year delay

The number of stalking and harassment offences also increased year on year since March 2014, rising by 15% in the year to March 2022 alone.

Labour has also pledged to set up specialist rape courts to speed up justice for victims and provide them with dedicated support.

The party said rape victims currently face a near three-year delay from reporting the crime to the end of their attackers' trials.

Only one in 100 suspected rapists is prosecuted, despite record-high numbers of complaints to the police.

The victim ends up dropping out in 42% of rape cases because of long waits and inadequate support.

Police in England and Wales recorded 67,125 rape offences in the year to December 2021 - the highest recorded annual figure to date.

In 2020-21 there were just 1,557 prosecutions, compared with 2,102 in the previous 12 months.

Support package

Over the past four years, rape prosecutions in England and Wales have fallen by 70%.

Under Labour's plans, announced ahead of its annual conference in Liverpool, a courtroom dedicated to dealing with rape trials would be established in every crown court in England and Wales.

Independent sexual violence advisers would be hired at each court and all staff would receive specialist trauma training to support victims.

Labour would also work with the judiciary to ensure rape cases are prioritised.

In February 2022, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) announced a package worth £40m to support victims of crime.

Several parts of the funding are for women and girls affected by sexual violence:

• £1.3m to allow victims to access support remotely

• £16m to recruit more independent sexual violence and domestic abuse advisers

• £20.7m for community-based sexual violence and domestic abuse services, aiming to lessen the amount of time survivors have to wait for support