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

来自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提供了多方面的角色。这些慈善机构在受害者面前的第一线角色意味着他们对客户的主观经历有专门、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，他们的案件数量和服务使用者报告的问题越来越复杂。最显著的服务削减之一是根据《2012年法律援助量刑和惩罚罪犯法》（LASPO）缩小了获得法律代理的财务资格标准。在法律援助削减后，对家庭暴力受害者和幸存者不成比例的经历进行了广泛的研究，然而，很少有人注意到这导致慈善机构的案件工作量增加的复杂性。本博士将调查LASPO在多大程度上影响了家庭暴力慈善机构提供的服务。特别值得注意的是，在没有法律援助的情况下提出的“禁止骚扰令”申请有所增加。由于获得法律代理的机会有限，家庭暴力受害者的唯一选择之一是获得行为民事令来保护自己。尽管有人担心法律援助的变化会导致批准的命令数量下降，但自2013年以来，nmo的数量一直呈上升趋势。这可以用一个事实来解释，即可以在没有律师帮助的情况下申请nmo。如果无法获得法律援助，申请NMO是一个很有吸引力的选择，因为申请人可以保护自己免受与犯罪者的任何互动。在这方面的一个说明性案例是R（就G.R.的申请）诉法律援助个案工作署署长及大法官[2020]，申索人在家庭住宅的共同权益超过了通过“经济状况规例”测试以获得法律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，她无法获得犯罪者的同意，以财产为抵押借款以支付法律费用。这一案件并不罕见或独特，它表明家庭暴力受害者获得民事代理的选择可能受到限制。虽然GR无法通过法律援助获得法律代理，但她在家庭暴力慈善机构“妇女权利”雇用的一名专家律师的协助下，获得了一份临时证人证言。这让我们看到，在获得法律援助的非政府组织和没有获得法律援助的非政府组织之间，分歧越来越大。此外，这表明，当主流服务失败时，家庭暴力服务团队和社区提供了专家和必要的支持。因此，进一步调查LASPO对填补法律援助削减留下的空白的慈善机构的影响程度是很重要的。通过半结构化访谈，本博士将调查独立家庭暴力倡导者（IDVAs）和暴力侵害妇女协调员（VAWG-Cs）支持妇女进入nmo的方式，以及家庭暴力慈善机构是否因LASPO而发挥其他法律作用。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，以了解在没有法律援助的情况下，慈善机构的作用是如何被看待的。由于这是一个关于LASPO影响的研究不足的领域，因此对服务提供商和服务用户体验的丰富、详细和意外的描述将是本研究的核心。

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.