May 30 - GSD Say Government Domestic Violence Strategy Is Not Moving Fast Enough
In February 2019 the GSD say they committed to introducing new legislation to bring domestic violence laws completely up to date to include controlling/coercive behaviour and recognise all forms of non-physical abuse.
The GSD will be holding a confidential on Tuesday 18th June at their Headquarters on College Lane. Those wanting to attend are to contact the GSD on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., or 200 70786 or in person at 1A College Lane to confirm their participation.
They say in 2018 there were a total of 337 reports of domestic violence received by the RGP. This year as at the end of March 2019 213 reports of domestic violence have been received.
A statement from the GSD follows below:
It is clear that not all incidences of domestic violence will have been reported to the Police and therefore this statistic represents a worrying trend in the number of domestic violence cases in our community.
As far back as December 2017 the Royal Gibraltar Police recognised the need for law reform in this area and the criminalising of coercive behaviour in intimate relationships. It is regrettable that since the call by the RGP and the Opposition raising this issue twice in Parliament over the last year very little progress has been made in bringing legislation to Parliament to protect victims. More must be done to reform our laws, raise awareness in our community and provide much needed support to the victims including education for perpetrators in respect of their actions which can have devastating effects on lives of victims.
The GSD is keen to open its doors on a confidential basis to those people who have been affected by domestic violence including those working within the care services so that we can better understand the response and resources required to provide greater support to those living with domestic violence and its continuing affects.
In this regard on Tuesday 18 June 2019 at 11am at GSD Headquarters the GSD be holding a confidential meeting for anyone interested in sharing their experiences and views on support in domestic violence and we invite any member of the public, including domestic violence charities to attend in order that we can work together in raising awareness and make proposals to the Government in tackling this worryingly more prevalent issue facing our community. Please feel free to contact GSD on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., or 200 70786 or attend in person at 1A College Lane in order to confirm your participation.
Elliott Phillips said: "Domestic violence is a complex issue and takes many forms including economic abuse. As we have said on a number of occasion our laws need to be strengthening in or order to protect victims from more subtle forms of domestic violence. The United Kingdom criminalised coercive and controlling behaviour back in 2015 and in January 2019 the UK Government indicated that it will widen the scope further to include economic abuse. The Government has been very slow to respond to the important changes which seek to protect victims. From our engagement with victims of domestic violence, , many feel trapped in an abusive relationships and because of their limited resources and lack of support are unable to remove themselves from the coercive and controlling behaviour. We look forward to welcoming and working with concerned citizens, charities and anyone who would like to share their experiences so that we may be able to put forward proposals to the Government on tackling this important issue."
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