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Not in Spain!! Had a trojan

Dear Colleagues, Earlier today you received a scam email that appears to be from me. As you probably have guessed my account was compromised by a trojan.

Please accept my apologies.

Harry Fletcher, Criminal Justice Director m: 07860 540145 e: harry@digital-trust.org Twitter: @hfletcher10

Digital-Trust

www.digital-trust.org

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UK to get law that addresses the most prevalent form of domestic abuse - coercive control

The government announced today that they will be introducing a new bill on coercive control, as an amendment to the Serious Crime Bill.  Harry Fletcher, Criminal Justice Director, Digital-Trust, who has been campaigning and working with all parties to introduce new legislation, welcomes the announcement.

In February 2014, Elfyn Llwyd MP, put before Parliament a Ten Minute Rule Bill concerning Domestic Violence.  Llwyd and Fletcher have been in consultations for the last eight months with victims, criminal justice agencies and women’s groups on what any new legislation should contain.

“The Bill we have proposed is very much influenced by victims’ experience. We wanted to know what had happened in their particular case and what legal remedy would have helped. For example, we proposed there should be no time limit on ‘coercive control’ because victims often need time to get safe and recover before enduring a legal case” explained Fletcher.

Wendy Green, Domestic Violence Coordinator for Rushcliffe Borough Council, who contributed to the consultation and works with vulnerable women every day and, “It can be very difficult to safeguard women because the current law doesn’t recognise psychological or financial abuse. This law is a huge step forward but it has to be accompanied with training and guidelines on investigation, evidence gathering and prosecution before it can be effective.”

The Bill which Fletcher drafted this year alongside Llwyd’s office would require police services to adopt, publish and implement policies and standards for officers’ responses to coercive control. That training would not only be a requirement for the police, but any agency who may come into contact with domestic violence cases - including Crown Prosecution Service, health care, social services and education.

Elfyn Llwyd MP supports a change in the law.  He said:  “Some of the worst cases of domestic abuse don’t include physical harm, but use coercive and controlling behaviour to inflict psychological abuse and maintain power over a victim. The current law is inadequate to deal with this type of abuse”

Llwyd and Fletcher will continue to work with Parliamentarians as the Bill goes through the House of Commons and the Lords. They will be making sure the provisions are robust and successfully implemented within the criminal justice system.

Background
The lack of appropriate legislation is a major contributory factor into the low charging and conviction rates on domestic abuse in England, Wales and Northern Ireland which in 2011 stood at just 6.5% . It is also why murder or suicide rates amongst victims of domestic violence remains far too high.

  • Two women are killed every week in England and Wales through domestic abuse, a recurring number (Home Office statistics).
  • 500 women who have experienced domestic abuse in the last six months commit suicide every year. Of those, just fewer than 200 attended hospital for domestic abuse on the day they died. (The Cost of Domestic abuse. Women and Equality Unit, Walby, 2004).

Examples of digital coercive control

  • Accessing text, email or online accounts to gather information or monitor a victim
  • Using GPS tracking devices to find victim’s location
  • Installing surveillance software on computer or mobile phones
  • Employing listening devices or video cameras to surveil victim
  • Providing children with spyware installed on smartphones to listen to conversations in a room or track their location.

Statistics

  • 80.4% of women in refuges and 85.6% of women using non-refuge services had experienced emotional abuse (Women’s Aid)
  • 57.4% of women in refuges and 49.7% of women using non-refuge services had experienced financial abuse (Women’s Aid)
  • 500 women who have experienced domestic abuse in the last six months commit suicide every year. Of those, just fewer than 200 attended hospital for domestic abuse on the day they died. (The Cost of Domestic abuse. Women and Equality Unit, Walby, 2004).
  • Some domestic homicides and so-called ‘honour killings’ may be disguised as suicides or accidents, with the help of the extended family and community (Southall Black Sisters).
  • 1 in 4 women experience domestic abuse during their lifetime and 6% to 10% of women experience domestic abuse in any given year (Analysis of ten separate domestic abuse prevalence studies by the Council of Europe, 2002).
  • Domestic abuse has a higher rate of repeat victimisation than any other crime. (Home Office, July 2002).

PRESS CONTACTS:
Elin Roberts, PR Plaid Cymru t: 07738 182 864 e: elin.plaid@gmail.com

Harry Fletcher Criminal Justice Director, Digital-Trust, CIC
t: 0786 054 0145 or e: harry@digital-trust.org
Twitter @hfletcher10 www.digital-trust.org
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Sky News: Emotional Abuse To Be Made A Criminal Offence

Sky News
Home Secretary Theresa May is expected to announce new powers which will put psychological abuse on a par with physical violence.

It will criminalise for the first time those who use controlling behaviour, as well as violence, to subject their partners to a life of misery.

A person convicted of "coercive control" could face a 14-year prison sentence.

Ministers hope the new law will encourage much earlier reporting by victims who, on average, do not contact police until they have suffered 30 incidents of domestic abuse.

Police receive a domestic abuse call every 30 seconds, according to research by the Home Office and the charity Women's Aid.

Research also shows 1.2 million women a year are victims of domestic abuse and two are week are killed by a partner or ex-partner.

Campaigner Harry Fletcher, director of the charity Digital-Trust, said: "The main reason women don't report incidents to police is a lack of confidence in the judicial system and a real fear that the behaviour of the perpetrator might escalate as a result of doing that.

"The police tend to just deal with the incident that happened that day, rather than looking at the totality of the behaviour often going back many years."

The new law is expected to come into force before next year's General Election.

DCI Trish Owen, from Greater Manchester Police's domestic abuse unit, told Sky News that the law would be "another tool for us to be able to tackle domestic violence".

The news comes as police prepare for an expected increase in domestic violence during the festive season and Ms Owen said the force has "enough staff out there to deal with demand".

She added: "I would ask (domestic violence sufferers) to pick up the phone and call police - even if they just want some advice on who to go to."

Sputnik Int'l - Moscow: May Introduce Bill Criminalizing Domestic 'Coercive Control': Reports

According to reports, the bill is expected to reveal domestic abuse much earlier before partners suffer significantly.

MOSCOW, November 23 (Sputnik) â€” The UK Home Office will reportedly introduce a new bill which would subject those who exercise coercive control over their partners to imprisonment for up to 14 years, Sky News reported Sunday.

The broadcaster said the bill was expected to reveal domestic abuse much earlier before partners suffer significantly. It also said about 1.2 million UK women had become victims of domestic abuse annually.

According to Harry Fletcher, director of the charity Digital-Trust , women tend not to report domestic violence to law enforcement bodies due to lack of confidence in the British judicial system.

"The main reason women don't report incidents to police is a lack of confidence in the judicial system and a real fear that the behaviour of the perpetrator might escalate as a result of doing that," Sky News quoted Fletcher as saying.

The new act is expected to take effect before the General Election in the United Kingdom in 2015.

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