A domestic abuse register is a start – but the devil is in the detail

Violence against women is being made a strategic policing priority. It can’t come soon enough – but it’s got to be backed by action, writes Jess Phillips

What worries me is the lack of resources available to support this scheme (Getty/iStock)

For years I have been working with victims of some of the worst cases of domestic abuse and stalking, as well as with the families of those who have sadly been murdered in instances of domestic homicide.

For more than three years, there have been demands for better monitoring and management of known domestic abusers and stalkers to prevent them from continuing their reign of terror against women.

We laid amendments that would create a register of these offenders to the Domestic Abuse Bill two years ago, and the government voted against them. This week, the government has at last announced that it will monitor some of the worst violent offenders. This is a victory, not only for hard-working campaigners – like Zoe Dronfield, who was nearly killed in an eight-hour ordeal at the hands of her ex-partner – but for all women.