Domestic abuse: punishment to match the crime

Today the Sentencing Council publishes new guidelines on domestic abuse. Courts now have better instructions on how to treat domestic abuse cases.

As a victim of domestic violence, I breathe a sigh of relief as these new guidelines are released today. These new guidelines will serve as deterrent and perpetrators or would be perpetrators will now think twice before acting.

But most importantly, the updated guidelines will help protect the victims of domestic violence and help them move away from the perpetrators without fear or harmful consequences.

I welcome how these new guidelines take into accounts the world we currently live in. It’s about time that offences committed using technology face punishment too.

It is particularly important to not forget that the victims of domestic violence are not always an adult in the relationship; it includes any children in that relationship too. Whether they are directly harmed or they are merely spectators, these children are also victims of this heinous crime because they may bear the scars of this violence for the rest of their lives.