The papers this morning (Telegraph and Daily Mail) are previewing the launch of the "Clare's Law" which will allow women to ask the police if their boyfriend/partner has been convicted for being violent. It is being launched on Monday and Home Secretary Theresa May is considering the issue.
Robert Buckland MP makes the point though ''We're all in favour of curbing violence against women but we have to be certain this will not lead to fishing expeditions by women demanding confidential information about potential boyfriends without proper justification. You cannot have a carte blanche system where people can simply turn up at a police station, give the name of a boyfriend or potential boyfriend, and expect the police to open up all the files on him.''
As well as creating some sort of stasi state, the whole undertone behind the law is all men are likely to be guilty of violence so we better make sure we check up on him. This is the way it is being presented in the newspapers - all men are potential women-beaters.
The other point and this is really for the media's ear - will "Clare's Law" by "Clare and Clive's Law"?
The media must keep asking those running the campaign whether a man can equally check up on his girlfriend/female partner to check she has a hidden violent past. With 88,000 women a year being arrested for violence - men have a right to know if women have a right to know. That's called equality.
Posted by Skimmington
Quite apart from the misandry. The current scandal about phone hacking should be warning. This seems a charter for digging for information by those prepared to tell a few lies. How on earth would the police check the request was genuine?
Posted by: Groan | Sunday, 17 July 2011 at 13:26
This is worrying. Even if men were given equality, it’s still worrying. Ken Clarke wants to cut the legal aid bill especially in cases were couples split up. He said he’d keep legal aid in cases where there was physical/sexual abuse in the relationship. This has led some to comment that there will be an upsurge in accusations of violence in the relationship in order for the woman to claim legal aid. So more innocent men will be accused of domestic violence - just so the woman will qualify for legal aid. Then these men will be prevented from dating in the future. It would be good for men to check if a woman has a false rape claim conviction. I doubt any man wants to be alone with a woman with that conviction. Finally only this week we saw Tracey Van Dungey convicted of killing her second partner. He may be alive today had he access to her record. Will men ever get equlity?
Posted by: John Wallace | Sunday, 17 July 2011 at 14:00
the Guardian report on this suggests men would be able to use the law as well.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2011/jul/17/women-warned-partners-clares-law
However all the sexist reporting and coverage so far not only harms male victims it creates a myth that they will not be able to check up on partners.
It would be especially useful if men could check up on false rape accusers, though of course those aren't prosecuted at all consistently at present so most such accusers will not be on teh system.
Posted by: John Kimble | Sunday, 17 July 2011 at 17:13
It started out as women being able to check up on their "potential partners" to see if they had child abuse convictions in order to protect their children from men. Now it has mutated into checking on all men as violent offenders.
Its the next stage in the branding of men. In the 70s and 80s all men were potential rapists, in the 90s and 00s they were potential paedophiles, now they are all potential domestic abusers.
What is needed is for the goverment to launch a campaign to encourage men to report domestic abuse and get criminal convictions of women to reflect the true level of domestic abuse against men by women in society.
Campaigns in schools are needed to warn boys about 'golddiggers', false accusers and violent women, who currently get away with murder in this country.
This would take us just one of the many steps needed for men to have equality.
Posted by: Bob | Sunday, 17 July 2011 at 18:54
Report on the BBC website..
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-14181959
..does suggest it will be both. It also points out that men too are often the victims of domestic violence which is good.
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