24 Hour Domestic Violence Help-line

The Home Office has released a plan featuring innovative new methods for stopping violent crime including domestic violence. Saving Lives. Reducing Harm. Protecting the Public: An action plan for tackling violence 2008-11 sets out what police and local agencies, will do over the next three years to cut homicide, knife crime, gun- and gang-related crime and sexual and domestic violence.  Key references to domestic violence include:

• increasing the number of Specialist Domestic Violence Courts (SDVCs) by 2011
• increasing the number of Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conferences (MARACs) by 2011
• to continue to fund helplines for domestic violence survivors
• to develop a cross-Government communications strategy for domestic and sexual violence
• following the evaluation of IDVA's to be concluded summer 2008 to roll out IDVA's according to the outcomes to ensure that they are available for all sexual and domestic violence victims by 2011.
• Introduction of Violent Offender Orders (subject to Parliamentary approval) to manage most dangerous offenders at end of their sentence
• development of a national action plan on so-called honour-based violence, Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and forced marriage

Sexual Violence, exploitation and trafficking is also strongly focused on in the plan including more than doubling the number of sexual assault referral centres.

 To download the full version of the plan access through the attached link.