Gloucestershire DV charity backs plans for abuser "restriction zones"

A Gloucestershire domestic abuse charity is backing plans for perpetrators of abuse to face tougher limits on where they can go.

Ministers are planning to introduce restriction zones for offenders, meaning survivors can go about their day-to-day lives without the fear of seeing their abuser.

Sexual and violent offenders could be restricted to certain locations and tracked with technology, and would face jail time for breaching the conditions under new proposals.

At the moment, exclusion zones exist to stop perpetrators from going to where their victims live, but under these new rules, that would be extended to places such as schools, shops and homes of family members.

It's a step welcomed by FearFree, with Service Manager Marise Mackie calling it a "major change" and a "really important milestone".

She said current rules put the onus on victims to report breaches of bail conditions or domestic violence prevention orders.

But the restriction zones would see offenders tagged, placing the emphasis on probation and police to handle, rather than it being victim-led.

"This is a really important step in saying that actually as a community we recognise that this is a significant issue and we are going to take responsibility for monitoring that rather than placing the onus back on the client to report that breach," Marise said.

She added: "Many victims will talk to us about the sheer level of a fear and paranoia that they have about meeting abusers, and it's really difficult to kind of dial that down and to really create those feelings of safety again, which are so important for our victims to be able to move forward from."

Marise said they regularly hear victims tell them of breaches to orders, with as many as 70% cases where a relationship has ended having a stalking element still present.

She added that reports of breaches are becoming rarer, because victims don't feel they're taken seriously, but that this next step shows the right people are listening.

Help for perpetrators key to breaking abuse cycle

While it is crucial survivors are given the support and protection required for them to rebuild their lives, Marise told us it is vital that perpetrators are rehabilitated to break the cycle of abuse.

The organisation runs behaviour change programmes, which Marise says help reduce offending by up to 80%.

She said abusers who serve jail terms don't always get support to correct their behaviour, meaning the likelihood of reoffending is higher.

"These programmes do make a difference, but more importantly for the person who has caused harm, has support to look at their behaviours and understand the impact that their behaviours have had on somebody else and to understand where those thoughts come from," she said.

It allows the offender to learn what healthy relationships look like and allows them a platform to rebuild their life too.

Marise said: "It means that actually they can have a whole lifetime of healthy relationships moving forward and it enables them to create stronger relationships with both new partners and with their children and setting really good examples of what healthy looks like within a family to be able to kind of move forward."

Anyone concerned about the behaviour of their current or ex partner, or their own actions, can contact FearFree here.

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