Harriet Harman: If you assault your wife you are a criminal

We want to make sure that we do everything we can to ensure that the criminal justice system is doing all it can in preventing domestic violence and prosecuting those who commit it.

Prosecutors are right to remember always that the woman's safety is paramount, but they, of course, are considering a public prosecution, not a private one. She might want to forgive him, but the next time he assaults her she could be killed. Even if she has left him and wants just to move on in her life and put it all behind her, he is likely, unchecked, just to go on and assault his next partner, and she might end up dead.

It seems to me to be important that we do two things: give a great deal more support to victims of domestic violence as they go through the criminal justice system; and make it clear that the assault they have suffered is a crime, and as such not a private matter just for themselves and their children.

It's a matter for all of us and it must be stopped. Make it clear to men that if you assault your wife or girlfriend, you are a criminal. There are many men who, though they assault their wives, do not consider themselves criminal. They are "not like that". They have good jobs and command respect. But if you commit assault at home, you are every bit as much a criminal as someone who assaults a stranger in the street.