Domestic and Family Violence Schemes from an International Perspective: How is criminal history information being shared to address serial abuse?

Domestic violence disclosure schemes (DVDS) allow members of the public to request and receive police information about their partner’s criminal history of domestic and family violence if they are at risk. DVDS aim to enable people at risk to make more informed decisions about their safety in a relationship.

The evidence shows that disclosure schemes can be highly effective in empowering people at risk, improving safety, and making serial perpetrators visible. Key elements of success for DVDS include: a sound legal basis for information sharing beyond conviction data, grounded in domestic and family violence legislation; inclusion of current and ex-partners as eligible for disclosures; domestic and family violence specialist-led decision-making and implementation; and provision of specialist support to all those who apply for information, irrespective of their eligibility or eventual receipt of a disclosure.

Almost 10 years since it was introduced, the New Zealand FVIDS falls short on most of these factors, which is reflected in the rapid decline in the rate of both applications and approved disclosures, and poor uptake by the public. The talk concludes with recommendations for policy-makers on how to correct this missed opportunity.

SPEAKER
Dr Kat Hadjimatheou is a Senior Lecturer in criminology at the University of Essex, United Kingdom. Her work focuses on technologies and data in criminal justice, security, and policing, particularly in the field of domestic abuse. In 2023-24 she held a British Academy Mid-Career Fellowship, which took her around the world to look at how domestic violence disclosure schemes are being implemented and what we know about how they work.