Domestic Abuse Protection Orders: Will they provide more effective protection against domestic abuse?

Various protective measures are currently available to victims of domestic abuse, including non-molestation orders, occupation orders, domestic violence protection notices (DVPNs) and domestic violence protection orders (DVPOs). Significant concerns have, however, been raised regarding police failures to issue DVPNs and court failures to grant protective orders where abuse is not physical. Where orders are made, breaches are often trivialised and orders then not enforced. The Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LASPO) has had a significant, negative effect upon individual victims’ ability to secure legal aid to successfully pursue and enforce protective orders themselves. As a result, victims cannot always secure the immediate or enduring protection they require. Domestic Abuse Protection Notices (DAPNs) and Domestic Abuse Protection Orders (DAPOs) will, the Government suggests, bring together the strongest elements of the existing protective orders into a single comprehensive, flexible order, designed to afford longer-term protection for domestic abuse victims. This paper draws upon academic research and draft statutory guidance, exploring whether these DAPNs and DAPOs, due to be piloted later this year, are indeed likely to provide better protection for victims, as the Government contends.