A recent Guardian article illustrates quite starkly the real and extremely worrying human impact of the dramatic cuts to legal aid, as victims of domestic violence are increasingly unable to receive legal aid, and have proper representation in court.
The article includes an interview with a woman who has survived a decade of domestic abuse by her former husband, and, as a single parent who works 16 hours a week and earns £650 a month, is now ‘too well off’ to qualify for legal aid.
The article notes research conducted by Women’s Aid, Rights of Women and Welsh Women’s Aid, which shows that 60% of women take no further action if they are not eligible for legal aid – and delay in seeking the protection of a court can make a victim and her children extremely vulnerable.
To read the full article, please see Tickle, L. ‘How the UK’s legal system is failing victims of domestic violence’, The Guardian, 29 November 2014.
