Domestic Abuse

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The latest police figures indicate a small increase in the number of domestic abuse cases in Northern Ireland. In 2023, there were 33,071 such incidents, an increase of 144 or 0.4 per cent on the previous year.

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A new statutory entitlement to domestic violence leave has come into effect. Under the Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2023, anyone experiencing or at risk of domestic violence will be entitled to take five days' leave in order to access supports. They will also be entitled to ful

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Justice minister Helen McEntee and James Browne, minister of state with responsibility for law reform have welcomed the passing through the Oireachtas of legislation which will establish a statutory agency under the remit of the Department of Justice dedicated to tackling and reducing domestic,

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Stalking and non-fatal strangulation have become standalone criminal offences following the commencement of a wide-ranging law which also increases the maximum sentence for various offences and introduces new protections for victims. Almost all of the Criminal Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act

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Northern Ireland solicitor Claire Edgar and barrister Gráinne Murphy were among guest presenters at this year's European Conference on Domestic Violence (ECDV) in Reykjavik, Iceland. This was the fifth conference of its kind, with the event having previously been hosted in Belfast, Porto, Osl

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A plan to create a statutory agency dedicated to tackling and reducing domestic, sexual and gender-based violence (DSGBV) and supporting victims and survivors has been approved by ministers. The draft Domestic, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Agency Bill 2023 will be published "as soon as possible"

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Victims of domestic violence who cannot return home should be recognised in law as homeless, the Mercy Law Resource Centre (MLRC) has said in a new report. The Social Housing, Domestic Violence and the Public Sector Duty report was launched by Labour leader and legal academic Ivana Bacik at a multid

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Mercy Law Resource Centre (MLRC) will next month host a conference on social housing, domestic violence and the public sector duty. The multi-disciplinary conference in Dublin's Wisdom Centre on Tuesday 5 September, 9.30am–1pm, will see academic and legal experts as well as civil society voice

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Victims of domestic violence will receive their full pay for five days under the domestic violence leave scheme set to be introduced later this year, the government has announced. Domestic violence leave will be formally introduced in the autumn with the publication of regulations setting out the ra

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A wide-ranging bill introducing new standalone offences of stalking and non-fatal strangulation, increasing the maximum sentence for various offences and introducing new protections for victims has completed all stages in the Oireachtas. The Criminal Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill, which de

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Just 14 applications for a legal aid eligibility waiver on the grounds of domestic abuse have been issued since they became available in Northern Ireland over a year ago, new figures show. The Domestic Abuse and Civil Proceedings Act (Northern Ireland) 2021, which came into force in February 2022,&n

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Legislation creating a new statutory agency dedicated to tackling and reducing domestic, sexual and gender-based violence (DSGBV) will be published this summer, the government has confirmed. The government's chief whip, Hildegarde Naughton, yesterday published the summer legislative programme contai

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Children should be taught about domestic violence at school to cut offending, a Northern Ireland judge has said. Judge Barney McElholm, of Londonderry Magistrates' Court, told BBC News NI that there has been an increase in the number of domestic abuse cases coming before him.

1-15 of 96 Articles