Legislation 

Clare’s Law, also known as the Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme, (DVDS) is a police policy giving people the right to know if their current or ex-partner has any previous history of violence or abuse. Clare’s Law is named after Clare Wood, a 36-year-old mother who was murdered in 2009 in England by a former domestic partner who police knew to be dangerous. 

Sarah’s Law, also known as the Child Sex Offender Disclosure Scheme, is police policy giving people the right to know if a person with access to a child has a record of committing sexual offences against children. Sarah’s Law is named after Sarah Payne, an 8-year-old girl who was abducted and murdered in 2000 in England by a convicted paedophile. 

Raneem’s Law is a legislative initiative being piloted in five forces across England and Wales aimed at improving the response to domestic abuse by embedding domestic abuse specialists in 999 control rooms for more appropriate urgent front-line support. Raneem’s Law is named after Raneem Oudeh a 22-year-old woman and her 49-year-old mother, Khaola Saleem, who were murdered in 2018 in England by a former domestic partner after their calls to the police were not correctly actioned. 

Jade’s Law has been approved (pending implementation) as part of the revised Victims and Prisoners Bill and aims to protect children from their parents if they have been convicted of murder or manslaughter by suspending parental custody and their influence on critical decisions of the child e.g. education. Jade’s Law is named after Jade Ward, a 27-year-old mother of four who was murdered in 2021 in England by a former domestic partner while her children were at home with her. 

Helen’s Law, also known as the Disclosure of Information About Victims Act requires that murderers and/or offenders who withhold information about their victims’ whereabouts may face a longer sentence and must have their non-disclosure considered before parole. Helen’s Law is named after Helen McCourt, a 22-year-old woman who was murdered in 1998 in England, and whose location of remains was never disclosed by the offender, who has since passed away. 

Terminology 

• Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) refers to acts of violence or abuse that we know disproportionately affect women and girls. Crimes and behaviour covered by this term include rape and other sexual offences, domestic abuse, stalking, ‘honour’-based abuse (including female genital mutilation, forced marriage, and ‘honour’ killings), as well as many others, including offences committed online. (Independent Office of Police Conduct) 

• Violence Against Women, Domestic Abuse, Sexual Violence (VAWDASV) incorporates Violence Against Women (and Girls), Domestic Abuse, Rape and Sexual Violence, Sexual Harassment, Female Genital Mutilation, Forced Marriage, Stalking, Trafficking and other forms of violence. (Safer Communities Wales) 

• Misogyny is a form of hatred, contempt or ingrained prejudice against women that normalises and legitimises violence against women and girls and provides a conducive context for both ‘legal’ but ‘harmful’ behaviours, and illegal harms such as harassment, abuse, and stalking. These harms manifest in both online and offline spaces. Despite the harm associated with misogyny, it is legal and is not included under hate crime legislation. (Victim’s Commissioner) 

• Coercive control is an act or a pattern of acts of assault, threats, humiliation and intimidation or other abuse that is used to harm, punish, or frighten their victim. This controlling behaviour is designed to make a person dependent by isolating them from support, exploiting them, depriving them of independence and regulating their everyday behaviour. (Women’s Aid) 

• Domestic abuse (DA) is the exercise of control by one person over another within an intimate or close family relationship; the abuse can be sexual, physical, financial, emotional or psychological. The abuse can happen in the home or elsewhere. (Welsh Women’s Aid) 

• Sexual assault (SA) is any sexual act that a person did not consent to, or is forced into against their will. It is a form of sexual violence and includes rape (an assault involving penetration of the vagina, anus or mouth), or other sexual offences, such as groping, forced kissing, child sexual abuse or the torture of a person in a sexual manner. (Safer Communities Wales) 

• Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is the partial or total removal of the external female genitalia for cultural rather than medical reasons. It is a cruel, dangerous and painful practice and its effects can last a lifetime. (Safer Communities Wales) 

• So-called ‘Honour’ Based Abuse/Violence (HBA/HBV) is a collection of practices, which are used to control behaviour within families or other social groups to protect perceived cultural and religious beliefs and/or honour. HBA/HBV can include murder, forced marriages, female genital mutilation, and rape. (Safer Communities Wales) 

• Stalking is a pattern of fixated and obsessive behaviour which is repeated, persistent, intrusive and causes fear of violence or engenders alarm and distress in the victim’ (Suzy Lamplugh Trust) 

• Harassment is unwanted behaviour from someone else that makes you feel distressed, humiliated or threatened. (Safer Communities Wales) 

• Spiking is when substances or alcohol are consumed without knowledge or consent and may lead to a person being vulnerable to harm and abuse. (Safer Communities Wales) 

• Grooming is a process that involves the offender building a relationship with a vulnerable person, and sometimes with their wider family, gaining their trust and a position of power over them, in preparation for abuse. (NSPCC) 

• Cyber-enabled abuse is ‘traditional’ abuse that is enhanced by the use of technology e.g. Cyberstalking, or online fraud like catfishing. (South Wales Police and Crime Commissioner) 

• Cyber-dependent abuse is abuse that can only be committed using digital technology e.g. hacking, spyware. (South Wales Police and Crime Commissioner) 

• Sextortion is a type of online blackmail. It’s when criminals threaten to share sexual pictures, videos, or information about you unless you pay money or do something else you don’t want to. (Police.UK) 

• Cyberstalking is repeated and deliberate use of the internet and other electronic communication tools to engage in persistent, unwanted communication intended to frighten, intimidate or harass someone. (South Wales Police and Crime Commissioner) 

• Deepfakes are digitally created and altered content often in the form of fake images, videos and audio recordings. (Police.UK) 

• Non-consensual intimate image (NCII) abuse (also known as so-called ‘revenge porn’) is when someone shares, or threatens to share, intimate photos or videos of you without your permission, this includes deepfakes. (Police.UK) 

• Cyberflashing is when someone sends you a photo of genitals without your permission. It is illegal to do this. (Police.UK) 

• Radicalisation can happen when a person develops extreme views or beliefs that support terrorist groups or activities. The most common types of terrorism in the UK are Extreme Right-Wing terrorism and Islamist terrorism. (Gov.UK) 

• The Manosphere is a network groups with hateful and violent ideologies towards women. This includes the subgroups: Incels and Pick up artists. (Victim’s Commissioner) 

• The Victims Code of Practice (VCOP) lays out what happens from when a crime is reported through to what happens after a trial, if there is one detailing a victim’s rights throughout this process. (South Wales Police and Crime Commissioner) 

• The Victims’ Right to Review (VRR) Scheme gives victims the right to ask for a review of a police decision not to charge a suspect. VRR applies to cases where a suspect has been identified and interviewed under caution. This happens either after they’ve been arrested or because they’ve volunteered to be interviewed. (Police.UK) 

Acronyms