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，家庭暴力慈善机构为英格兰和威尔士的妇女发挥了多方面的作用。他们与受害者的第一线角色意味着这些慈善机构对其客户的主观经历有专业，敏感和适当的了解。在紧缩削减基本服务的背景下，家庭暴力慈善机构报告说，他们的案件越来越复杂，服务用户报告的问题也越来越多。削减服务的最大幅度之一是缩小了根据2012年《罪犯法律的援助、判刑和处罚法》获得法律的代理的经济资格标准。已经有广泛的研究家庭暴力的受害者和幸存者的不成比例的经验后，法律的援助削减，然而，一直很少有人注意到，这导致了慈善机构的案件量增加的复杂性。这个博士将调查的程度，其中LASPO塑造了家庭暴力慈善机构提供的服务。将特别注意在没有法律的援助的情况下提出的禁止骚扰令申请的增加。由于获得法律的代理的机会有限，家庭暴力受害者唯一的选择之一是获得行为民事令以保护自己。尽管有人担心法律的援助的变化会导致批准令的下降，但自2013年以来，非军事组织一直呈上升趋势。这可以解释为，可以在没有律师帮助的情况下申请NMO。如果得不到法律的援助，则选择NMO是一个有吸引力的办法，因为申请人可以保护自己不与犯罪人发生任何互动。v法律的援助个案工作主任和大法官[2020]，如果申索人在家庭住宅中的共同权益超过了通过“经济状况条例”测试以获得法律的援助资格的最低要求。据报道，索赔人的银行账户中有28英镑，无法获得肇事者的同意，以财产为抵押借钱支付法律的费用。这一案件并非不寻常或独特，它表明家庭暴力受害者获得民事代表的选择可能受到限制。虽然GR无法通过法律的援助获得法律的代表，但她在IDVA和家庭暴力慈善机构妇女权利雇用的一名专业律师的协助下获得了NMO，以提供一份迟来的证人证词。这使人们能够深入了解得到法律的援助的非军事组织与没有得到法律援助的非军事组织之间日益扩大的差异。此外，这表明，当主流服务失败时，家庭暴力服务机构提供的专家和必要支持团队和社区。因此，重要的是要进一步调查LASPO对填补法律的援助削减留下的空白的慈善机构的影响程度。使用半结构化访谈，本博士将调查独立家庭暴力倡导者（IDVA）和暴力侵害妇女协调员（VAWG-C）支持妇女获得NMO的方式，以及是否有任何其他法律的作用，家庭暴力慈善机构正在履行的结果，LASPO。除了半结构化的访谈，我还将与家庭暴力慈善机构的客户进行焦点小组讨论，以了解当无法获得法律的援助时，慈善机构的作用是如何被理解的。由于这是LASPO影响的一个研究不足的领域，因此服务提供商和服务用户体验的丰富，详细和意外的帐户将是这项研究的核心。