
West Yorkshire Police has released figures on International Women’s Day to mark seven years since Clare’s Law came into place.
In January, the force launched a campaign to raise awareness of the Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme, better known as Clare’s Law, and encouraged people to take advantage of their right to ask if they have concerns about a partner or ex-partner.
Since then, there has been a significant increase in requests. Right to ask requests in February were nearly triple the previous year, with 30 requests in 2019 compared to 11 in 2018. There were 27 right to ask requests in January 2019 (12 of these since the campaign launch on 24th), compared to 15 in January 2018. To put it in further context, there were 18 requests in December 2018, the month before the campaign launched.
Detective Superintendent Jon Morgan, Head of West Yorkshire Police’s Safeguarding Central Governance Unit, said: “It is hugely encouraging that more people are taking advantage of their right to ask whether a partner or ex-partner has a history of domestic abuse.
“Where a disclosure is made, it puts that person in a better informed position to make a decision as to whether to continue any relationship. It also enables us to discuss any concerns the person may have and signpost them to other support available.”