Understanding the Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme

A national Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme now allows partners of former offenders to have information disclosed to them by the police. The scheme was introduced following a campaign for ‘Clare's Law’, named after Clare Wood, who was murdered in 2009 by a man she had met on an internet dating site. The man had convictions for the harassment and assault of former partners and, in the months preceding her murder, Ms Wood had contacted the police alleging the man had caused criminal damage, harassed her, threatened to kill her and sexually assaulted her (Strickland, 2013).

One in four women experience domestic abuse at some time in their lives (Taket, 2004). It happens to women in all walks of life, across all ages and ethnic groups. Domestic violence accounts for a fifth of violent crime and claims the lives of two women every week (Simmons and Dodd, 2003). As well as the primary adult victim, children are also abused in 45% of cases (Mullender, 2000).