A charity has claimed children and carers bereaved by domestic homicide have been “left invisible” in a new government strategy to tackle violence against women and girls (Vawg).
This week, safeguarding minister Jess Phillips set out a £1 billion-backed strategy which looks at ways to prevent violence, crack down on abusers and support victims.
But families of domestic homicide victims said it is “heartbreaking” to see a lack of any clear plan to support children and carers left behind with the trauma.
Diana Parkes set up The Joanna Simpson Foundation in honour of her daughter who was brutally killed by her estranged husband in 2010 at the age of 46, in the vicinity of her two young children. She said it is “unacceptable” that the government’s strategy “fails to recognise them in any meaningful way”.
“Having lost my daughter to domestic homicide, I know exactly how devastating the impact is on the children and carers left behind after such brutal acts,” she said.
“Families living with the consequences of domestic homicide cannot be treated as an afterthought. They should be not left invisible in a national strategy.”
As part of the plan, new laws will ban AI “nudification” tools that turn pictures of real people into fake nude pictures and video without their consent.
Specialist rape and sexual offences investigators will also be introduced to every police force, better support will be given to survivors in the NHS, and a £19 million funding boost will be handed to councils to provide safe housing for domestic abuse survivors.
But the government was condemned by the charity for failing to set out how it will implement Jade’s Law in the strategy- where parental responsibility is automatically suspended in cases where an offender has killed a partner or ex-partner with whom they have children.
Roann Court, daughter of Claire Marshall who was killed by her ex-boyfriend, found the strategy “deeply disappointing”.
She said: “After my mum was killed by domestic abuse, there was no support for me or for the family members who became my carers.
“It reinforces the message that once a homicide occurs, families like mine are no longer seen. Without explicit inclusion, children and carers will continue to fall through the gaps, just as we did.”
Grandmother Linda Westcarr, mother of Kennedi Westcarr-Sabaroche who was killed by her boyfriend, said: “I know the devastating reality behind the headlines. Nothing prepares you for the pain, the fear, or the overwhelming responsibility of trying to rebuild a child’s life after such violence.
“Those of us who become carers carry not only our own grief but also the child’s trauma, while shouldering the responsibility of keeping them safe, stable, and loved.
“That is why it is heartbreaking and deeply frustrating to see the UK government publish this strategy without explaining when Jade’s Law will be written into policy and put into practice so it can actually be used.
“Families cannot survive on promises alone. The absence of any clear implementation plan sends a painful message that families like mine have once again been forgotten.”
