{"id":50408,"date":"2026-04-29T10:19:30","date_gmt":"2026-04-29T09:19:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/womensaid.org.uk\/?p=50408"},"modified":"2026-04-29T11:17:26","modified_gmt":"2026-04-29T10:17:26","slug":"domestic-abuse-act-reaches-five-year-milestone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/womensaid.org.uk\/domestic-abuse-act-reaches-five-year-milestone\/","title":{"rendered":"Domestic Abuse Act reaches five-year-milestone"},"content":{"rendered":"

Domestic Abuse Act reaches five-year-milestone <\/span><\/h1>\n

Five\u00a0years ago, a landmark piece of legislation was passed that changed the way the nation responds to domestic abuse.\u00a0The Domestic Abuse Act was signed\u00a0into law on\u00a029\u00a0April 2021, after years of campaigning by Women\u2019s Aid alongside dedicated survivors and activists.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We marked this milestone with\u00a0with\u00a0a\u00a0anniversary film and\u00a0a dedicated reception, where we were joined by a whole host of voices, dedicated to making life better for survivors of domestic abuse:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Women's<\/a>Powerful messages were shared by our speakers throughout the evening, including our CEO, Farah Nazeer, saying that: “Our task is clear: match the promise of the law with the reality of peoples’ lives”. Our ambassador, Charlie Webster also said: “You can’t design a system to protect people whose reality you don’t understand. Survivor voice is not a nice addition to policy. It’s quality control. The abuse ending is not the end of the story. We need long term wrap around support. Because healing is not an incident, it’s a journey. And right now we’re leaving too many people to walk it alone.”<\/p>\n

The Act delivered a real step change in our society. It introduced provisions in a wide range of areas, from housing to the family courts, reflecting the diversity of needs that survivors have when fleeing abuse, as well as the insidious nature of domestic abuse \u2013 permeating every aspect of a survivor\u2019s life.<\/p>\n

For the first time ever, children were recognised as victims of domestic abuse in their own right in their own right; and laws relating to coercive control were extended – for example to recognise that a victim did not necessarily need to live with a perpetrator to experience this kind of abuse.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Women\u2019s Aid was immensely proud to campaign alongside sister organisations, activists, member services, dedicated parliamentarians, and most importantly, women and children with lived experience, to strengthen and support the passing of\u00a0the legislation.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Five years on,\u00a0we are reflecting on the success of the Domestic Abuse Act, the gaps still left to fill\u00a0and what needs to happen next to protect all women and children and to end domestic abuse for good.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We have worked with survivors, supporters,\u00a0ambassadors\u00a0and policymakers\u00a0on a film where we hear\u00a0their vision for building a future free from abuse, and what the next steps are five years on from the Domestic Abuse Act to make this a reality:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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