.
On 28 March 2023, Doughty Street Chambers (DSC) hosted its flagship housing conference, this year focusing on domestic abuse.
Keynote
Harriet Wistrich, founder and director of the Centre for Women’s Justice, opened the conference with a history of the changing definitions and perceptions of domestic abuse. She started with a stark reminder of the distance we have come in recognising domestic abuse as a phenomenon and a societal ill, explaining that for much of the 19th century, it was thought that a man may beat his wife so long as he used a rod ‘not thicker than his thumb’.
Through her campaigning work in the modern day, she saw that the criminal justice system and society more widely had long failed to understand that domestic abuse involves much more than outright violence or even psychological abuse. She described the development of the concept of coercive control, which is defined by Professor Evan Stark as ‘a pattern of behaviour which seeks to take away the victim’s liberty or freedom, to strip away their sense of self’. This broader understanding of domestic abuse has led to the introduction of the Domestic Abuse Act (DAA) 2021, which has amended the definition in our legislation to include coercive control, emotional abuse and economic abuse.
Panels
The first panel of the day focused on domestic abuse in homelessness and allocations. DSC’s Zia Nabi looked at the definition of ‘reasonable to continue to occupy’ and reminded attendees that local authorities should be dealing benevolently with the evidence of those who present as homeless and in priority need as a result of experiencing domestic abuse. Nabi’s DSC colleague, Martin Westgate KC, discussed the duties on local authorities to plan ahead to ensure that they have the facilities to support homeless applicants who have experienced domestic abuse, including the new duties under DAA 2021 s57. He noted that, unusually, local authorities are now required to ‘give effect’ to these strategies.
Isabella Mulholland, a legal caseworker at the Public Interest Law Centre, provided attendees with a thorough guide on how to achieve management transfers for survivors of domestic abuse through judicial review. She explained that the value of management transfers cannot be overstated, as they are a means of moving a survivor out of a dangerous area without causing them to lose their security of tenure.
Later in the day, LAG CEO Sue James and DSC’s Daniel Clarke and Marie Paris discussed issues affecting tenants experiencing domestic abuse. Clarke provided a rundown of options available through the Family Law Act 1996, the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 and the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973. James reminded the audience that domestic abuse is, by its nature, a housing issue and discussed the steps social landlords can take to assist tenants experiencing domestic abuse. Paris discussed domestic abuse and housing costs, providing practical steps to improve clients’ benefit entitlements and avoid further financial abuse.
Sarah Steinhardt and Jamie Burton KC, both of DSC, discussed how to get the best out of the Equality Act 2010 for survivors of domestic abuse. Burton gave a crash course on the mechanics of the Equality Act 2010, while Steinhardt looked at the challenges that can be brought in circumstances where the landlord is themselves an abuser or has failed to deal with domestic abuse in the appropriate way. In particular, she discussed discrimination defences that can be brought in possession proceedings and went on to look at the provisions for vulnerable parties introduced to the Civil Procedure Rules in 2022.
A highlight of the day came shortly before lunch, where panellists discussed how best to serve clients who have experienced domestic abuse. DSC’s Shu Shin Luh spoke about tools available in international and domestic law to help child survivors, including the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and protections within the Children Acts of 1989 and 2004, while lamenting the substantial ‘protection gap’ that remains.
Saskia Hagelberg, sexual health team leader at Solace Women’s Aid, spoke candidly of her own experience as a survivor of domestic abuse trying to seek support with housing problems, and educated attendees of the importance of being ‘trauma-informed’ when advising survivors and taking instructions on profoundly upsetting events in a client’s life. Similarly, Laura Tomsa, domestic abuse lead at Barnardo’s, explained the importance of amplifying children’s voices and taking a holistic approach when assisting children on the road to trauma recovery.
Closing address
Closing the conference, Westgate observed that acting for survivors of domestic violence is about much more than just doing ‘the legal bits’ – our responsibility as practitioners goes beyond the need to get the best outcome for the client. He noted that every survivor’s experience is different, and we must deal with our clients – and our colleagues – with as much compassion as possible to avoid compounding the trauma that has already been experienced and to address the gaps in the law that remain.