Domestic abuse

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Domestic abuse and legal aid

We are committed to empowering the most vulnerable people in society to safeguard their rights. 

Victims of domestic abuse are one of our priority groups and we seek to actively support victims through increased access to legal advice.

NCDV 

The National Centre for Domestic Violence (NCDV) is a charitable organisation that assists victims of domestic violence in obtaining emergency injunctions.  In response to requests from LSC contracted solicitors a guidance note has been written in conjunction with the NCDV which sets out how to work with the NCDV within the terms of the LSC’s Unified Contract.

Please see the documents panel on the right for the full guidance note.    

Domestic abuse literature review

In recent months, a variety of organisations have expressed concern about a decline in the number of applications for injunctions in domestic abuse cases.  In response to these concerns the LSC commissioned an exploratory literature review to establish to what extent the numbers of Domestic abuse are declining, and the factors that may be influencing the fall. 

Please see the documents panel on the right for the full review, carried out by Dr Mandy Burton, an academic researcher based at the School of Law, University of Leicester. 

Findings

The key findings of Dr Burton’s research are as follows:

Dr Burton made several recommendations for the LSC including ensuring that efforts to improve the civil justice response to domestic violence should be focused upon those most in need of support and protection, including ‘hard to reach’ groups.

Next steps

We are currently working to improve access to legal advice for women living in refuge accommodation and accessing refuge support services.  Traditional face-to-face services are not always appropriate for this group – the unfamiliar environment of a solicitor’s office can be threatening and distressing and may prevent them from accessing advice.

To address this we are running a project to set up effective relationships between domestic abuse services and providers so that solicitors can make visits to refuges or attend outreach sessions in order to give advice.

We have been working with Women’s Aid, Refuge and Welsh Women’s Aid to identify the services that would benefit from better relationships with local advice providers.  The organisations we will be working with include culturally specific services catering to the most vulnerable groups of women.

Domestic abuse fact sheet

See Documents for a factsheet that:

Eligibility waiver

From 9 Apr 07 we can waive all eligibility limits (i.e. the gross and disposable income limits and disposable capital limit) for legal representation for victims of domestic violence.

See Documents for guidance on how this works.

Guidance on granting funding for domestic abuse

See Documents for the decision-making guidance that:

This sets out the criteria for both applicants and respondents in these types of cases.

Improving the justice system

National and regional liaison work involves forging stronger relationships with Her Majesty’s Courts Service (HMCS), domestic abuse support groups and the Crown Prosecution Service. 

Regional offices are ensuring information is available to domestic abuse victims including:

Working with clients and the public

We are developing a Client and Public Engagement Strategy and setting up a Client Diversity Group.  

This will help us engage with clients and better understand access barriers to legal aid services and will inform and shape policy making. 

We will identify a range of client representative organisations to shape this work and will involve organisations representing survivors of domestic abuse.

Helping women from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Backgrounds 

For women experiencing domestic abuse the physical, emotional and practical reality of their situation is complex. However, for women from Black, Asian or Minority Ethnic backgrounds (BAME), additional factors linked to culture, access to information and language mean that they may not get early access to crucial legal advice and services.

In fact, research shows that women from a BAME background are one and a half times less likely to seek help from statutory services, with many viewing legal advice as a last resort.

Improving understanding

To get a better understanding of the obstacles faced by BAME women in accessing legal advice and how we can reduce these, we recently held a number of events and focus groups. These events focussed on speaking to BAME women who have been affected by domestic abuse and listening to their perceptions and experiences. The events provided a great opportunity for survivors of domestic abuse, legal aid providers and professional support services to give their views, make suggestions for improvements and network with each other. A wide range of professional services and organisations contributed including, Women’s Aid, County Councils, the Probation Service, the Police.

Barriers facing BAME women

A number of barriers to access were identified through the events. These range from areas directly linked to the legal aid system, to wider cultural and societal factors. The barriers faced by BAME women include:-

Cultural and family pressures are a big factor for BAME women. For many, religious, cultural and personal beliefs may mean that separation or divorce from their abuser are not seen as a viable option. Some women from BAME communities are chaperoned when they leave the home so aren’t able to seek help. Women from BAME groups may also be concerned about their immigration status.

The next steps…Improving service delivery

The responses overwhelmingly show that a holistic, integrated approach is vital to reduce the barriers for BAME women.

A number of the recommendations from the events have already been implemented and link to steps and initiatives that we are currently involved in:

A priority for us is how we raise awareness of these. The events show that information we have already produced now needs to be delivered in innovative ways to reach the broadest range of women, including those who are closely monitored by their families or partner. We will look at expanding the locations where information is available, and investigate whether the CLA helpline number can be an untraceable number which won’t show up on phone bills. We are also committed to sharing our research and working in partnership with other agencies to help improve access to justice for domestic abuse survivors.

To read the report ‘Access to justice – Domestic abuse – see the ‘documents’ section on this page.

For more information

If you have any queries regarding any of the above please email the family team.

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Last updated: 01 September 2009

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