The proposed new law, inspired by a UK law and known as Clare’s Law, that would allow people to check with the police whether their partner has any history of domestic violence needs some fine-tuning. The whole scope is to introduce a register of people who have been convicted of domestic violence. The register is not made public but those in a relationship who suspect that their partner might turn abusive can file a request with the Victim Support Agency to inquire whether they have been found guilty of domestic violence in the past. In this sense, therefore, the new law would not allow just anyone to check on the criminal history of whomever they wanted. Yet, is all this enough to stem the growing social scourge of domestic violence within our society? While this law will bring with it some definite benefits, there are also drawbacks when considered in the realm of domestic violence, where the increased likelihood of criminalisation and further legislation do not necessarily provide effective safety and security outcomes for women victims of violence. Mine is a timely critical analysis of the need for and merits of Clare’s Law, coupled with the need to balance the right to...
↧