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The focus of this column is to provide an outline of changes to the law that are relevant to adult protection and have been introduced by the Domestic Violence Crime and Victims Act 2004. The Domestic Violence Crime and Victims Act 2004 (DVCVA, 2004) has been introduced to modernise the law on domestic violence. Remedies for domestic violence are principally provided by the Family Law Act 1996, Part IV and this act is amended by the DVCVA. The new legislation aims to strengthen the rights of victims and witnesses, introduces new offences and includes tougher sanctions for perpetrators. Royal Assent for the Act coincided with the publication of a joint report by CPS and HM Inspectorate of Constabulary entitled 'Violence at Home' (2004). The report found that only five per cent of domestic violence cases result in a conviction and victims are often denied access to civil remedies because of limited access to legal aid.
The Family Law Act 1996 significantly extended the law on domestic violence. Relief, in the form of non-molestation orders and occupation orders, can be sought against an 'associated person'. This term encompasses a wider range of people than previous domestic violence legislation, which was limited in its application to spouses and cohabitees, and is clearly relevant to some cases of adult abuse where the perpetrator falls within one of the categories of 'associated person' of the victim eg, an adult son who abuses his mother. Section 62(3) defines the term as including parties: who are or have been married to each other; who are cohabitants or former cohabitants; who live or have lived in the same household (other than as employees or lodgers); who are relatives, including relatives of their spouse or cohabitee (or former); who have agreed to marry; who are parents of the child or have parental responsibility for the child. The definition is extended by the DVCVA to specifically include same sex couples within the term 'cohabitants'. As cohabiting couples are already associated persons the particular significance of this is that property owners, spouses and cohabitants are the only associated persons that can apply for an occupation order. The list of associated persons is also amended to include people who have not married or cohabited but nevertheless...