In a new research report published on 27 May 2026, “They don’t understand abuse”, CWJ presents insights from survivors of violence against women and girls (VAWG) and women’s specialist services about police and prosecution practice when survivors are accused of offending, and recommends reforms.
The research, funded by the Olwyn Foundation and conducted by Pragna Patel, co-founder and former Director of Southall Black Sisters, and co-founder/director of Project Resist, reveals high levels of distrust and disappointment in police and prosecutors amongst women who have suffered abuse and been accused of offending.
Most of the women’s service providers who participated in the research stated that they routinely dealt with cases where women were criminalised when they were in fact the victims of abuse. The following themes emerged, all contributing to inappropriate responses to victim-survivors accused of offending:
Culture of disbelief
Lack of understanding of domestic abuse and coercive control
Failure to apply the public interest test
Failure to implement a trauma-informed response
Discrimination against Black, Asian, minoritised and migrant women.
These deficiencies in the criminal justice process lead to injustices that have far reaching consequences for victim-survivors and their children, and that make it impossible for women to trust the criminal justice system as a site of protection.
One commonly cited barrier to the proper handling of these cases is the difficulty faced by survivors in disclosing to the police that they are experiencing abuse. One frontline women’s service provider commented:
“They don’t understand abuse. The police are not flexible; they don’t understand how hard it is for women to make disclosures and they don’t understand the reasons why full and frank disclosures are not made.”
In one case shared in the report, a woman who did not speak English was subject to abuse by her partner, who was a social worker. He made allegations of child abuse against her. The frontline service supporting her commented:
“The police assumed he was telling the truth… Her children were left with her husband when she was arrested and he wouldn’t return the children to her. She had to leave behind a baby that she was still breast feeding.”
Even where victims do disclose abuse, a culture of disbelief appears to contribute to perpetrators’ accounts being favoured over those of victims. In one case, a woman was prosecuted for common assault against a perpetrator who had sexually assaulted her. The perpetrator had filmed her on his mobile phone pushing him and saying repeatedly that she wanted him to stop touching her without her permission. She commented:
“In court I plead guilty to the common assault charge... I have a criminal record…I made an official compliant to the police department who handled both cases as I had tried to bring a sexual assault charge in the first instance, but it was thrown out due to lack of evidence, whereas the case against me was taken up seemingly without question.”
The research findings underline the need for action to implement earlier recommendations by CWJ and others for effective defences to be introduced for victim-survivors of domestic abuse who are accused of offending, and for improvements in training, guidance and accountability for the police and prosecutors in their handling of cases involving victims of VAWG as suspects and defendants.
The research also reveals four additional critical areas of need:
Women’s specialist services are crucial to support women and strengthen decision-making by police and prosecutors, but they are not universally available and often receive referrals too late
Failure to provide timely interpreting services can lead to inappropriate arrests and detention of migrant women
Lack of legal aid pre-charge means cases are not closed down early
Victim-survivors and women’s specialist services are not sufficiently included in work to improve police and prosecutors’ practice.
The report’s recommendations for change include ensuring that victims of VAWG who are accused of offending have access to support and independent advocacy from women’s specialist services from the first point of contact with the police, as well as timely access to female interpreters where needed.
The report also calls for legal aid to be made available for criminal defence lawyers to engage with suspects pre-charge, and that victim-survivors and women’s specialist services should be involved in developing new national guidance and mandatory training for police and prosecutors and mechanisms to hold them accountable - including services that specialise in supporting Black, Asian, minoritised and migrant women.
Pragna Patel said:
“The case examples and reflections in this study suggest the privileging of the male voice and downgrading of the voices of women, particularly those who are marginalised, including Black, Asian, minoritised and migrant women. Vulnerability itself appears in some cases to be a driver of criminalisation and detention, which is directly contrary to the public interest.”
Harriet Wistrich, Solicitor and Chief Executive Officer of CWJ, said:
“For many years now, CWJ and others have called for legislation to provide effective defences for victims of domestic abuse who are accused of offending, and for improved leadership, training, guidance and accountability mechanisms to improve practice by police and prosecutors so that victims’ experience of abuse is properly taken into account in any proceedings against them. These calls have recently been echoed by the government-appointed independent Women’s Justice Board and we await the government’s response.
“Victim-survivors have repeatedly put themselves on the line by sharing their painful experiences to persuade those in power to implement the changes that are so clearly needed. We welcome the work that has been begun by the National Police Chiefs Council and Crown Prosecution Service, but achieving success will require system-wide change led from the top of government – including increased investment in women’s specialist services. Anything short of a full-throated endorsement of the recommendations in this report, and those of the Women’s Justice Board, will fail victims.”
ENDS
Notes:
All case examples have been anonymised to protect survivors’ privacy.
‘They don’t understand abuse’ builds on CWJ’s earlier research and Stop Criminalising Survivors film series by presenting insights from frontline women’s specialist services and survivors who took part in interviews, a focus group and a survey in Summer 2023. We received survey responses from 18 specialist services supporting women in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and we held a virtual roundtable discussion with 15 representatives of specialist women’s frontline service providers. Several of these service providers also completed the survey. We also held one-to-one interviews with five victim-survivors. All the case examples have been anonymised, including changing some minor details. Click here to read the full report; click here for the accompanying Policy Briefing.
Nearly 70% of women in prison or under probation supervision in the community in England and Wales are known to be victim-survivors of domestic abuse. For many this is directly linked to their offending. The true figure is likely to be higher because of barriers to women disclosing abuse.
The Domestic Abuse Commissioner for England and Wales and Women’s Justice Board have both called on the government to introduce effective defences for victims of domestic abuse who are accused of offending. The government’s response to the Women’s Justice Board’s report is awaited. The government has so far indicated it has no current plans to introduce any new defence, but has committed to considering legislation in relation to self-defence if this is recommended by the Law Commission in its review of the law of homicide (due to report in 2028).
The cross-government Freedom from Violence and Abuse Strategy (2025) includes commitments to improve awareness and understanding of the criminalisation of victims of VAWG, acknowledging there is a greater risk of criminalisation for Black, minoritised and migrant women. In the strategy, the government commits to exploring changing court defence forms to include questions for defendants on their own experience of domestic abuse and coercive control, and to introducing trauma-informed training for court staff and better VAWG training for criminal justice practitioners with a focus on suspects and defendants who are victims.
The National Police Chiefs Council and Crown Prosecution Service have begun strategic work to improve their response to women and girls as suspects and defendants, making commitments to improve understanding of the links between women’s victimisation and their criminalisation, and to address intersectional discrimination experienced by Black, minoritised and migrant women and girls. In response to an earlier recommendation by CWJ, they have committed to introducing a joint protocol for the Police and CPS for the handling of cases involving a suspect or defendant who is a victim of VAWG.