Filling the gaps left by the Legal Aid Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012: The role of charities in cases of domestic violence

填补 2012 年《法律援助量刑和罪犯处罚法》留下的空白：慈善机构在家庭暴力案件中的作用

• 批准号: 2570106
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: University of Warwick
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Studentship
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2021 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=studentship-2570106
• 关键词: Filling; gaps; left; Legal; Aid

Annual reports from Women's Aid have shown the multifaceted roles that domestic violence (DV) charities provide for women across England and Wales. Their front-line role with victims means that these charities have specialised, sensitive and appropriate knowledge of the subjective experiences of their clients. Against the backdrop of austerity cuts to essential services, DV charities have reported the increasing complexity to their caseload and the issues that service users are reporting. One of the most significant cuts to services has been the narrowing of the financial eligibility criteria for access to legal representation under the Legal Aid Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LASPO). There has been widespread research on the disproportionate experiences of victims and survivors of domestic violence after the legal aid cuts, however, there has been little attention to the extent that this has led to the increased complexity of charity's caseload.This PhD will investigate the extent of which the LASPO has shaped the services that domestic violence charities provide. Specific attention will be drawn to the increase in non-molestation order (NMOs) applications made without the help of legal aid. With limited access to legal representation, one of the only options available for victims of DV is to acquire a behavioural civil order to protect themselves. Despite concerns that changes to legal aid would lead to a downturn in granted orders, NMOs in particular have been increasing in an upward trend since 2013. This can be explained by the fact that NMOs can be applied for without the help of a solicitor. If legal aid is not available, an NMO can be an appealing option, as the applicant can protect themselves from any interaction with the perpetrator.An illustrative case in this area is R (on the application of G.R.) v the Director of Legal Aid Casework and the Lord Chancellor [2020] where the claimant's joint interest in the family home exceeded the minimum requirement to pass the "means regulations" test for legal aid eligibility. The claimant was reported to have £28 in her bank account and was not able to obtain consent from the perpetrator to borrow money against the property to pay for legal costs. This case is not unusual or unique and demonstrates ways in which options to access civil representation can be limited for victims of domestic violence. Although GR was unable to access legal representation through legal aid, she was able to obtain a NMO with the assistance of an IDVA and a specialist solicitor employed by the domestic violence charity Rights of Women to provide a late witness statement. This gives an insight into the growing divergence between NMOs granted with the help of legal aid, and those without. Furthermore, this shows the team and community of specialist and essential support that domestic violence services provide when mainstream services fail. It is important therefore, to investigate further the extent of which the LASPO has impacted charities who are filling the gaps left by the legal aid cuts.Using semi-structured interviews this PhD will investigate the ways in which Independent Domestic Violence Advocates (IDVAs) and Violence against Women Coordinators (VAWG-Cs) are supporting women's access to NMOs, and whether there are any other legal roles that DV charities are performing as a result of the LASPO. Alongside the semi-structured interviews, I will also be conducting focus groups with clients of domestic violence charities in order to understand how the role of the charity is perceived when legal aid is not available. As this is an under-researched area of the effects of the LASPO, the rich, detailed, and unanticipated accounts of service provider's and service user's experiences will be central to this research.

妇女援助组织的年度报告显示，家庭暴力 (DV) 慈善机构为英格兰和威尔士的妇女提供了多方面的作用，这些慈善机构在受害者面前发挥着第一线作用，这意味着这些慈善机构对其客户的主观经历拥有专业、敏感和适当的了解。在基本服务紧缩削减的背景下，DV 慈善机构报告称，其案件量日益复杂，服务用户报告的最重要的服务削减问题之一是获得法律服务的财务资格标准的收窄。法律援助下的代理《2012 年罪犯量刑和惩罚法》(LASPO) 对于法律援助削减后家庭暴力受害者和幸存者的不成比例的经历进行了广泛的研究，但很少有人关注这导致了家庭暴力受害者和幸存者的增加。慈善机构案件量的复杂性。本博士将调查 LASPO 对家庭暴力慈善机构提供的服务的影响程度。将特别关注在没有帮助的情况下提出的禁止骚扰令 (NMO) 申请的增加。由于获得法律代理的机会有限，家庭暴力受害者唯一的选择之一是获得行为民事命令来保护自己，尽管担心法律援助的变化会导致授予命令的减少，但 NMO 仍然在这样做。特别是自 2013 年以来呈上升趋势。这可以解释为 NMO 可以在没有律师帮助的情况下申请，如果无法获得法律援助，NMO 可能是一个有吸引力的选择，因为申请人可以这样做。保护自己免受任何互动这方面的一个说明性案例是 R（根据 G.R. 的申请）诉法律援助案例工作主任和大法官 [2020]，其中索赔人在家庭住宅中的共同利益超过了通过“据报道，原告的银行账户里有 28 英镑，但未能获得犯罪分子的同意，以财产为抵押借钱来支付法律费用。这种情况并不罕见，或者尽管 GR 无法通过法律援助获得法律代理，但她在 IDVA 和雇用的专业律师的帮助下获得了 NMO。家庭暴力慈善机构“妇女权利”提供了一份迟来的证人证词，这让人们了解了获得法律援助的 NMO 与未获得法律援助的 NMO 之间日益扩大的差异。此外，这还表明了专业和必要支持的团队和社区。当主流服务失败时，家庭暴力服务可以提供。因此，重要的是，要进一步扩大 LASPO 对慈善机构的影响，这些慈善机构正在填补法律援助削减留下的空白。本博士将使用半结构化访谈来调查独立家庭暴力倡导者 (IDVA) 和暴力侵害妇女行为的方式协调员 (VAWG-C) 正在支持妇女接触 NMO，以及 DV 慈善机构除了 LASPO 之外是否还发挥任何其他法律作用。在半结构化访谈中，我还将与家庭暴力慈善机构的客户进行焦点小组讨论，以了解在无法获得法律援助时人们如何看待慈善机构的作用，因为这是一个尚未充分研究的影响领域。在 LASPO 中，对服务提供商和服务用户体验的丰富、详细和意想不到的描述将是这项研究的核心。