Clare's Law

 On Monday Home Secretary Theresa May MP announced that the Government will be piloting ‘Clare’s Law’ in four areas in England.  Clare’s Law is named after Clare Wood, a young woman who was murdered by her ex-boyfriend who had a history of violence against a number of women.

Clare’s Law will give both women and men the right to ask the police if their partner has a history of serial domestic violence, and give the police the ability to make a disclosure about any previous occurrences. Theoretically this will allow both women and men to make an informed decision about the future of their relationship.

I hope that this scheme will prove effective in allowing people the opportunity to find out about the history of a partner. Of course it is then up to the individual whether they choose to act on this information but the right to know and the ability to find this out is crucial to the plans. 

My concern regarding this policy is however the practicalities.  I will be interested to see how the police interpret the word “partner” and the sorts of evidence that individuals will need to provide to show that they are in a relationship with someone. We need to ensure that this system does not lead to muck racking, witch hunts or cases of mistaken identity. 

If this pilot reduces domestic violence and exposes dangerous individuals then it will be a success. I very much hope that this will be the case because anything that reduces the instances of domestic violence should be welcomed.  However I will be watching the policy closely as it develops and hope for further proof that it works before it is rolled out nationwide.