Starting from next month, domestic abuse victims won’t have to pay to have their names taken off public registers.
Until now, victims had to pay £318 to the courts in order to prevent their information being easily accessible.
Deborah Jones from Resolute, a domestic abuse charity, says the policy is a step in the right direction, but that more needs to be done.
West Yorkshire Police made 2,415 arrests for controlling and coercive behaviour last year – despite this, only around 10% of the arrests led to any charges.
By scrapping these fees, victims are one step closer to safety – but if the government want to hit their target of halving domestic violence against women and girls, it’s likely more will need to be done.
