Prevention and protection: will the Domestic Abuse Act transform the response to domestic abuse in England and Wales?

Abstract

Hailed as a landmark in the prevention of domestic abuse1 and the protection of victims, the much-anticipated Domestic Abuse Act 2021 was passed by the House of Commons in July 2020 and received Royal Assent in April this year. This article considers the extent to which the raft of measures introduced under the new legislation will transform the response to domestic violence and abuse in England and Wales. The paper considers domestic violence and abuse to be a gendered phenomenon with roots in broader social and cultural conditions of inequality, with women being disproportionately impacted due to the role violence and abuse have in sustaining male dominance at a societal level. Recognition of this necessitates a gendered approach to addressing domestic violence and abuse, which in turn shifts the focus away from discrete incidents and on to a full programme of behaviours aimed at disempowering victims. Through a discussion of the major provisions, the paper will argue that while the Act is a welcome addition and has clear potential to improve prevention and protection for individual victims, much more is needed in order to truly transform the response to domestic abuse in England and Wales.