Eve’s Law – giving domestic abuse victims faith in the justice system

By Dan Jarvis and Helen Jones

When a woman manages to leave her partner after decades of abuse and report his terrifying, bullying behaviour, you would expect the justice system to provide all the support she needs. Sadly, just the opposite can be true.

Eve Thomas was beaten and set on fire by her ex-husband but found the courage to walk away after 20 traumatic years. She did so expecting to be protected from her abuser; he was convicted for battery and subject to a restraining order.

Shortly afterwards, Eve found herself back in court on an unrelated matter and was asked to state her name and ‘safe’ address within an open and public court. When she refused and explained it would compromise both her and her daughters’ safety, she was told by the judge that she would be held in contempt of court.

We highlighted Eve’s case in the House of Commons last year and her relentless campaign to change this legal anomaly. She is fighting for the introduction of ‘Eve’s marker’ which would red-flag the personal information of a victim of abuse as confidential and highly sensitive. This would prevent dangerous mistakes from occurring, such as the release of refuge addresses. In essence, it would protect victims of domestic abuse by ensuring that the data would never be disclosed unless exceptional circumstances demand it.

This won’t be a carte blanche for everyone in court to avoid giving their address. It must not be abused but needs to be used in a sensible and sensitive manner only by those truly at risk. This doesn’t mean a judge can’t be party to the individual’s address, it’s just it won’t be broadcast for all to hear in the court room.

Some might question how many people would be affected by this but Eve, aided by David Malone a leading Human Rights Barrister, is leading the charge and have already uncovered numerous cases.

On average, a victim will suffer domestic abuse an appalling 35 times before they report it to the police. Changing the law to support these victims would send out a strong message – that the justice system understands their ordeal and is willing to adapt to support them.

Domestic violence is a horrific crime; appalling for the damage it causes physically, emotionally, sexually, but also because of the fear it instils often over many years. It is very rare that domestic abuse is a one off occurrence. More often than not, physical violence is coupled with a psychological campaign of abuse; sometimes this occurs without any physical violence at all.

Anomalies like the one identified by Eve Thomas do not just compromise the safety of the individual, they also set back any work the government does to tackle domestic abuse. When a victim leaves their home to report domestic abuse, they must be absolutely sure that they will be protected; whether that’s going to a refuge, implementing a restraining order, or ensuring that they, or their children, never again have to live with the fear of their abuser turning up on their doorstep. This legal anomaly puts this at risk.

After we highlighted Eve’s Law in Parliament, the government said that they will consider implementing it. We will keep the pressure up to ensure that it happens.

Eve Thomas found the courage to fight back. We owe it to her and other victims of abuse to address what is a small anomaly, but one which will have a huge impact on their lives.

Dan Jarvis is a Shadow Justice Minister and Helen Jones is a Shadow Home Office Minister