Women’s Aid respond to tougher sentencing in domestic homicide cases announcement
Alexandra Williams, Public Affairs and Campaigns Manager at Women’s aid said:
“We warmly welcome the implementation of two new statutory aggravating factors for murder sentencing, as recommended by Clare Wade KC’s independent Domestic Homicide Sentencing Review, including the expectation for tougher sentences for perpetrators who strangle their victims. We are pleased to see our government take steps to keep its promise to halve violence against women within the next decade, and we hope to see continued efforts to ensure that domestic abuse is treated with the seriousness it deserves within our justice system.
However, we acknowledge that these measures address only a portion of the necessary reforms needed within the criminal justice system’s approach to domestic abuse. We are calling for the removal of ‘positive good behaviour’ as a mitigating factor in sentencing and charging decisions. The absence of a previous criminal record should not automatically be equated with “good character,” particularly in domestic abuse cases, where conviction rates are notoriously low.”
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