Respect welcomes the launch of the government’s Tackling Domestic Abuse Plan, including the Pursuing Perpetrators strand, which lays out a strategic approach to addressing domestic abuse.
We are particularly pleased to see the government’s commitment to spend £75 million on “tackling perpetrators”, with a focus on “directly addressing abusers’ behaviour”. Sustainability has always been a challenge for the perpetrator sector, and multi-year funding is vital in ensuring services can plan and deliver perpetrator interventions effectively and safely.
Whilst we are pleased to see this longer-term funding, we are keen that the money is spent on a range of responses, ensuring that perpetrators at every level of risk are both given meaningful opportunities to change and prevented from causing further harm.
As part of the Plan the government is also exploring the development of a new register for domestic abuse perpetrators. Respect and our members are ready to work alongside the government to shape the development and delivery of the register, and to ensure it puts the safety and wellbeing of survivors and victims at its heart.
We look forward to receiving further detail on the Plan, and welcome the opportunity to work with government to ensure its effective implementation.
