Teresa has called on the Government to work with campaigners to implement Eve’s Law, which would protect victims of domestic violence.
Eve’s Law would introduce “Eve’s Marker” which would “red flag” the personal information of a victim of domestic abuse as confidential and highly sensitive. The marker would ensure that the data would never be disclosed unless exceptional circumstances demanded it.
Teresa said:
“It is unacceptable to place victims of domestic violence and abuse at risk by forcing them to disclose their address and contact details in open court. This could deter thousands of victims of domestic violence from coming forward and reporting the crimes against them.
It’s already the case that fewer domestic abuse cases are being referred to the Crown Prosecution Service on this Government’s watch, and experiences like that of Eve Thomas risk further undermining confidence in our legal system.
By adopting Eve’s law the Government can help address a small legal anomaly which will have a huge effect on the lives of people who have suffered from this horrific crime.”
Eve Thomas said:
“My case is over now but I wanted to ensure that this never happened to another victim again. This year has been hell for my girls and me and there were times when I wanted to give up because the distress and anxiety was just too much. Every visit to court came with threats of imprisonment because all I wanted to do was protect my family.
I fought back once before and I have now done it again and so I will continue this fight and hope that the powers that be will see that it is time that common sense prevailed. I want to thank Dan Jarvis for his support and I pray that our Prime Minister will see that it is time to initiate change. Our victims need to feel safe, it’s their right.”
