A NEW UK-wide law on domestic abuse represents progress, but opportunities to strengthen protections for victims have been missed, campaigners say.

Welsh Women’s Aid has welcomed the UK government’s Domestic Abuse Act but insists the legislation could have been improved if the government had agreed to further changes.

The landmark bill was granted royal assent and became law last week after the House of Lords ended its stand-off with the government, following concessions.

Sara Kirkpatrick, chief executive officer of Welsh Women’s Aid, a charity that works towards ending domestic abuse and violence against women, and which has been consulted on the bill, said it still wants to see further changes to protect victims.

“This is not the end of our fight; we are devastated that some amendments that would have protected the most vulnerable survivors in our communities did not make the final Bill,” said Ms Kirkpatrick.

“While today we take the time to celebrate progress, tomorrow we continue the fight to end violence against all women and girls.”

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The charity said it was disappointed that amendments to ensure protection and support for migrant women were voted down. The House of Lords had backed calls from those working with victims, and some MPs, to put support for migrant women on an equal footing to other victims of domestic abuse.

As some migrant women may have a no recourse to public funds condition as part of their immigration status they can struggle to access support.

Welsh Women’s Aid said by failing to extend those same protections the bill had fallen short: “We stand by our view that the bill does not fully protect and support all survivors and, therefore, fails to be the landmark piece of legislation it could have been.”

What the charity described as, “some progress on ensuring victims’ details are not shared with immigration control”, was welcomed by it along with a number of other changes agreed which have allowed the bill to be signed into law.

What amendments were made to the bill?

The law on controlling or coercive behaviour has been strengthened. The Serious Crime Act made acts, including threats and punishment, and attempts to isolate a person from support and to lose their independence a crime in 2015.

But that has now been extended to acknowledge perpetrators can continue to abuse their victims when they no longer live together.

Last month ITV Wales weather presenter Ruth Dodsworth spoke publicly after her husband Jonathan Wignall was jailed for three years after a nine-year campaign of controlling behaviour, harassment and stalking against her during their marriage.

A law against unauthorised sharing of intimate images was introduced in 2015 and that has now been widened to include threats to share such images.

If someone survives a strangulation attempt it can be difficult to prove motive meaning attackers could often be charged with assault rather than the more serious charge of attempted murder. The bill, as a result of calls from campaigners, has created a standalone offence of non-fatal strangulation.

The controversial ''rough sex defence' has been used in murder trials where men have claimed they and their victims had been engaged in consensual, violent or dangerous sex. Campaigners say the bill has ended this defence in court which they described as perpetrators essentially arguing their victims had consented to violence and their own murder. The government has said it has clarified the law in such cases.

Other parts of the bill welcomed by Welsh Women’s aid are the recognition of children as victims of domestic abuse in their own right if they see, hear or experience the effects of abuse.

Abusers will no longer be allowed to directly cross-examine their victims in the family and civil courts, while victims will have better access to special measures to help prevent courtroom intimidation – such as protective screens and giving evidence via video link.

The UK government said: “The Domestic Abuse Act will provide further protections to the millions of people who experience domestic abuse and strengthen measures to tackle perpetrators.  

“For the first time in history there will be a wide-ranging legal definition of domestic abuse which incorporates a range of abuses beyond physical violence, including emotional, coercive or controlling behaviour, and economic abuse.”

Much of the legislation covered by the new bill relates to the criminal law and the courts, which are the responsibility of the UK government in Wales and England.

The Welsh Government passed its own Violence against Women, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence Act in 2015 which was intended to improve prevention, protection and support for people affected by violence against women, domestic abuse and sexual violence.