A review into how the police handled the investigation of the murder of a woman and her child by her violent ex-partner has been called by the family of the victims.
In 2010 Rachel and her son Auden Slack were both stabbed to death in their home by her ex partner and father of Auden. Rachel had before then, repeatedly told police that she feared for her life.
Reported in full in The Guardian, Melony Slack, Rachael’s sister-in-law, said the family were now urging people to support a call for a public inquiry into the state’s handling of domestic violence, led by the domestic violence charity Refuge. Giving comment Melony said “Our family’s great comfort is we may be able to help others,”… “But the phrase ‘lessons have been learnt’ is no consolation unless you see the effects of those lessons. The numbers of women being killed have not gone down and Jean, Rachael’s mother, says she wants no one else to have to go through what she has been through.”
Sandra Horley, the chief executive of Refuge, said;
- A comprehensive and national review into domestic violence was necessary
- Two women are killed by a current and former partner every week
- One in four women will experience domestic violence in their lifetime
“Those figures have not changed for 10 years,” she commented. “We have had endless reviews into individual tragedies but to really find out what is going wrong we need a national response to a national problem.”
I will be very interested to see what comes from these calls. Domestic violence is an intolerable criminal act and it should be that everybody feels safe in the knowledge that the policing and laws surrounding it, will protect them.
Our specialist team are very experienced with domestic abuse cases and provide expert, reassuring and friendly legal advice whatever your circumstances. Should you wish to speak confidentially to a member of our domestic violence team, please call us on: 029 2039 5888
Tuesday 27 October 2015
Thursday 15 October 2015
‘No fault divorce’ on its way?
The Conservative MP Richard Bacon has put forward a proposal to amend the family law to allow couples to say there was no fault for the relationship break up.
The current law means that married couples who want to separate have to provide the courts with evidence of adultery, unreasonable behaviour, desertion or separation without consent.
Arguing that he did not want to make divorce ‘easier’ but instead stating his Bill would allow couples to break up without ‘throwing mud’ at each other, Mr Bacon went on to say: ‘I propose one simple amendment to the law - the option of divorce without blame - where a petitioner who wished to do so, rather than offering the court one of the five facts currently required of adultery, unreasonable behaviour, desertion etc, could instead satisfy a court a marriage had broken down irretrievably with a sixth fact.’
MPs passed the first reading of Mr Bacon’s ‘No Fault Divorce Bill on Tuesday.
I will keep an eye on this interesting proposal - anything that gives a different angle on ‘blame culture’ cannot be a bad thing to explore.
To read the full article from The Telegraph click here.
The current law means that married couples who want to separate have to provide the courts with evidence of adultery, unreasonable behaviour, desertion or separation without consent.
Arguing that he did not want to make divorce ‘easier’ but instead stating his Bill would allow couples to break up without ‘throwing mud’ at each other, Mr Bacon went on to say: ‘I propose one simple amendment to the law - the option of divorce without blame - where a petitioner who wished to do so, rather than offering the court one of the five facts currently required of adultery, unreasonable behaviour, desertion etc, could instead satisfy a court a marriage had broken down irretrievably with a sixth fact.’
MPs passed the first reading of Mr Bacon’s ‘No Fault Divorce Bill on Tuesday.
I will keep an eye on this interesting proposal - anything that gives a different angle on ‘blame culture’ cannot be a bad thing to explore.
To read the full article from The Telegraph click here.
Tuesday 6 October 2015
Legal right for Grandparents to share parental leave
In the future it could be the case that working grandparents will be able to share parental leave.
The Chancellor has announced the planned changes - which are aiming to be implemented by 2018 - and he is hoping they will increase flexibility and give choice to families.
Evidence suggests:
- Up to 2 million grandparents have either given up work or reduced their hours to help families who cannot afford childcare costs
- Around 7 million grandparents are involved in childcare
- Grandparents may be contributing as much as £8 billion each year to help bridge the childcare gap
- More than half of mothers rely on grandparents for childcare when they first go back after maternity leave
The government will consult on the details in the first half of 2016 and whatever the outcome, I hope the planned changes will only help to support family units so that the best choice of structure can be chosen by those families who work.
To read the full government report click here.
The Chancellor has announced the planned changes - which are aiming to be implemented by 2018 - and he is hoping they will increase flexibility and give choice to families.
Evidence suggests:
- Up to 2 million grandparents have either given up work or reduced their hours to help families who cannot afford childcare costs
- Around 7 million grandparents are involved in childcare
- Grandparents may be contributing as much as £8 billion each year to help bridge the childcare gap
- More than half of mothers rely on grandparents for childcare when they first go back after maternity leave
The government will consult on the details in the first half of 2016 and whatever the outcome, I hope the planned changes will only help to support family units so that the best choice of structure can be chosen by those families who work.
To read the full government report click here.
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