'I felt ashamed and violated': Calls for domestic abuse victims to be given right to anonymity

Domestic abuse victims should be given the right to anonymity in the media to prevent them being subjected to further abuse, campaigners have urged.

Survivors of sexual violence are granted lifelong press anonymity from the moment any allegations are made, but victims of domestic abuse are not currently offered the same protection.

Frontline service providers argue this disparity places domestic abuse survivors at grave risk and routinely leads to them facing further abuse from their abuser, or friends and relatives of their abuser, after cases are reported on in the media.

A domestic abuse survivor, who chose to remain anonymous, urged the law to be changed to give victims the right to waive their anonymity if they so wish.

She said she suffered abuse and harassment from her abusive ex’s friends after she was named in the press when her case went to court last year.

She added: “None of my family knew, neither did my employer [until I was named in the press]. I felt a lot of shame and then seeing my name in the article and the awful comments made below the article were dreadful, there was racial abuse online.

“I felt sad, ashamed, embarrassed and violated. Something that took a lot of courage for me to report and everyone got to know about it. Even now I find myself googling my name for fear of it popping up again. There is an added layer of shame when I already had enough to process with regard to being abused.”

Current laws mean anything said in court in a domestic abuse case can legally be reported in the press - including a victim's name and highly personal details about the violence they suffered.

Jo Gough, chief executive of RISE, a domestic abuse charity which has launched a campaign for the law to be changed, told The Independent the present situation places women and their families at risk of serious harm, and women they support have encountered very difficult issues linked to a dearth of anonymity.

She added: “Children were affected. Networks of people found out. Having your identity exposed to the press makes it easier for your perpetrator to carry on abusing you. Friends and family of the abuser have previously used the court case to work out the victim’s address and whether they are still in the area to continue to harass them.

“Victims should have the choice of whether to waive their anonymity so they are not automatically named by the press. This could not only save women’s lives but also make more women likely to come forward to report domestic abuse. Survivors who leave their perpetrators are at the highest risk of violence within the first year of leaving, which often coincides with their case going to Magistrates court.

“These women have already been through great trauma being harmed in their own homes by those closest to them as well as the ordeal of court, so they should not be put through the further distress of being named in the media. It removes a survivor’s right to privacy and can put them and their family at further risk of harassment, abuse and potentially serious harm.”

Statistics show women are at the greatest risk of homicide at the point of separation or after leaving a violent partner – some 55 per cent of the women murdered by their ex in 2017 were killed within the first month of separation and 87 per cent in the first year.

Every week in the UK, an average of two women are murdered by a partner or ex-partner.

Concerns around domestic abuse have been heightened during the lockdown – with visits to the UK’s online national domestic abuse service surging by 700 per cent in a single day last month and a report recently released by MPs revealing domestic abuse killings doubled over 21 days.

Caroline Lucas, the MP for Brighton Pavilion who lent her backing to the new campaign on anonymity, said: “Lockdown has brought into sharp relief the unbearable situations many people are facing at home. Yet we know that domestic abuse is hugely underreported to the police.

“Guaranteeing press anonymity for survivors of domestic abuse could encourage reporting and crucially, help to keep survivors safe. That’s why I welcome this new campaign from RISE and look forward to working with them to get a change in the law. Survivors of domestic abuse need support to build a new life away from their abuser, and it is everyone’s responsibility to ensure that this happens in as safe an environment as possible.”

RISE, the charity spearheading the campaign, has seen calls to their helpline more than triple – a rise of 220 per cent – during the Covid-19 lockdown.

The organisation, which supports domestic abuse victims in Sussex, is calling for people to sign a petition demanding the law around anonymity is overhauled. It argues it is imperative to change the law now due to predicting there will be a greater number of court cases happening in due course because of domestic violence rising in lockdown.

Sandra Horley, chief executive of Refuge, the UK’s largest provider of shelters for domestic abuse victims, said: “It can be very difficult for survivors of domestic abuse to report their violent partners to the police and go through the ordeal of making statements and giving evidence in court. Many women are worried about the risks of further abuse and face pressure from perpetrators to withdraw charges. Many also feel ashamed and worry about friends, family and colleagues finding out the details of the abuse they suffered if it is reported in the media.

“It is critical, therefore, to recognise that it takes great courage for women to report domestic abuse to the police, and it is vital that they are treated with respect and have the safest possible experience of the criminal justice system. This should include automatic anonymity for survivors, as is currently the case for survivors of sexual offences.”