CPS to train staff on "spectrum of abuse" in violence against women and girls, as data reveals overlap between domestic abuse and sexual offenses.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is set to roll out new training to recognize the full picture of abuse in cases involving violence against women and girls. This comes after a recent study found that domestic abuse was present in over one-third of rape cases and more than eight-tenths of stalking and image-based abuse cases.
The new five-year strategy aims to improve casework quality, increase trust in the CPS, and address complex cases where multiple forms of abuse are involved. The training will focus on "honour" based abuse, forced marriage, female genital mutilation, stalking and harassment, as well as cyberstalking.
According to the director of public prosecutions, Stephen Parkinson, there is a significant overlap between different types of violence against women and girls, with 93.5% of charges for "honour" crimes linked to domestic abuse, while charges for rape, stalking, and image-based abuse show similar patterns.
Parkinson emphasized the need to present a comprehensive picture of criminality in court cases to ensure that offenders face justice for all forms of abuse they have committed. The training will help staff recognize these layers of offending and work towards building stronger cases.
The new strategy also includes measures to improve communication with victims, including enhanced pre-trial meetings and dedicated victim liaison officers. Baljit Ubhey, director of policy, stressed the importance of recognizing that domestic abuse can be complex and interconnected.
With a record-high court backlog in England and Wales, there is an urgent need to address delays in prosecution and sentencing. Parkinson noted that better understanding the links between crimes and prosecuting offenders for all forms of abuse can help reduce crime rates.
Ellie Reeves, Solicitor General, highlighted the importance of improving communication with victims and ensuring they receive consistent support throughout the justice process. The government is also exploring the possibility of introducing new legislation to make it easier to prosecute perpetrators following a death after domestic abuse.
The introduction of this training and strategy marks an important step towards addressing violence against women and girls in England and Wales, as the scale of the issue becomes increasingly clear.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is set to roll out new training to recognize the full picture of abuse in cases involving violence against women and girls. This comes after a recent study found that domestic abuse was present in over one-third of rape cases and more than eight-tenths of stalking and image-based abuse cases.
The new five-year strategy aims to improve casework quality, increase trust in the CPS, and address complex cases where multiple forms of abuse are involved. The training will focus on "honour" based abuse, forced marriage, female genital mutilation, stalking and harassment, as well as cyberstalking.
According to the director of public prosecutions, Stephen Parkinson, there is a significant overlap between different types of violence against women and girls, with 93.5% of charges for "honour" crimes linked to domestic abuse, while charges for rape, stalking, and image-based abuse show similar patterns.
Parkinson emphasized the need to present a comprehensive picture of criminality in court cases to ensure that offenders face justice for all forms of abuse they have committed. The training will help staff recognize these layers of offending and work towards building stronger cases.
The new strategy also includes measures to improve communication with victims, including enhanced pre-trial meetings and dedicated victim liaison officers. Baljit Ubhey, director of policy, stressed the importance of recognizing that domestic abuse can be complex and interconnected.
With a record-high court backlog in England and Wales, there is an urgent need to address delays in prosecution and sentencing. Parkinson noted that better understanding the links between crimes and prosecuting offenders for all forms of abuse can help reduce crime rates.
Ellie Reeves, Solicitor General, highlighted the importance of improving communication with victims and ensuring they receive consistent support throughout the justice process. The government is also exploring the possibility of introducing new legislation to make it easier to prosecute perpetrators following a death after domestic abuse.
The introduction of this training and strategy marks an important step towards addressing violence against women and girls in England and Wales, as the scale of the issue becomes increasingly clear.
I mean can you even imagine dealing with someone who's been subjected to all that emotional trauma? It's like, their whole life gets turned upside down & they're expected to just be strong or whatever 
The fact that there's overlap between domestic abuse & sexual offenses is wild. Like we thought we knew what was going on but nope, it's way more complicated than that 
And I love how Ellie Reeves is pushing for consistent support throughout the whole process. We need more of that in our society 
Can't wait to see some changes come through 
"To improve is to change, so to be perfect is to change often" - Winston Churchill 
these stats are wild 1/3 of rape cases involve domestic abuse thats crazy what about all the other forms of abuse like cyberstalking and image based abuse? need a more holistic approach to addressing this 
gotta give credit to cps for taking steps in the right direction but still so much work to be done 
. And I'm all for improving communication with victims, but what about supporting them after the court process is over? That's when things can get really tough 
People are more afraid of what might be true than of what is true. 
like domestic abuse is linked to rape and stalking and image based abuse it all fits together somehow and we shouldnt ignore that. the fact that 93% of honour crimes are linked to domestic abuse is crazy and we need to be doing more to help those victims. i think its great that theyre working on this five year strategy and training for staff to recognize these layers of offending. we need better communication with victims too so they get consistent support throughout the process.
. Its crazy to think that domestic abuse is present in like 1/3 of rape cases 
. Its also about time the government looks at introducing new legislation to make it easier to prosecute after a death 
. We can't just focus on one type of abuse, we need to be addressing all forms of violence against women and girls 
. We should all be working together to create a safer society for everyone 
.
the new training is like soo much needed 2 recognize all forms of abuse & help victims get justice 
u know how its always hard 2 believe domestic abuse can lead 2 rape or stalker cases but now we got proof 
& im all about them enhancing communication with victims too, so they dont feel isolated 
But let's not forget about the actual victims here 
. I mean, can't we just focus on actual abuse and not get caught up in all this nuance nonsense? 
. That's just a fancy way of saying they're gonna try to make things more comfortable for the victims, but what about the reality? Most victims are probably too scared or traumatized to really speak up anyway 
.
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. It sounds like they're just making excuses for the system being slow 
. Let's just get back to basics and try to make some real change 
.
. It's not just about prosecuting offenders, but also about supporting the people affected by these crimes 
.