Clare's Law , a scheme allowing couples to check out their partner's history of domestic violence has been unveiled by ministers .
A pilot of "Clare's Law" – named in honour of Clare Wood who was brutally murdered by her ex-boyfriend – will begin in four areas of England and Wales this summer. Under the scheme , women and men will have the right to ask police about a partner's history under a 12-month trial of the Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme (DVDS) in Greater Manchester, Gwent, Nottinghamshire and Wiltshire. It comes after a campaign for a change in the law by Clare's father Michael Brown and pressure from the Respect and Protect campaign started by The Sun's Fabulous magazine.
Clare was strangled and set on fire by her ex-boyfriend, George Appleton, at her home in Salford in February 2009. Mum-of-one Clare, 36, met Appleton on Facebook and was unaware of his history of horrific violence against women which included kidnapping one of his ex-girlfriends at knife point.
Appleton, dubbed the "Facebook Fugitive", went on the run before hanging himself.
Appleton, dubbed the "Facebook Fugitive", went on the run before hanging himself.
At the inquest into Miss Wood's death last year, Coroner Jennifer Leeming said women in abusive relationships should have the right to know about the violent past of the men they were with.
Since the Scheme was announced yesterday , arguments and criticism have arisen regarding the need for such a law.
" Why should women be giving access into men's private records?" Where will this stop, where do we draw the line?"
"What if this right to gain access is abused by rejected women and men seeking revenge ?"
My take on this is that Clare's Law is long overdue.
Both men and women need protection from "predators"; more so needed by women than men.
Women , sadly , when they think they are "in love" with men; do need laws to protect themselves from their own carelessness and naivety.
When in love, some women , even experienced ones who should know better; become gullible and easily manipulated by men. They would see their lovers through rose-tinted lens and throw caution to the winds! In contrast, when in a relationship , men tend to be clinical and down to earth about women. Men are capable of presenting to women , what to men is nothing but a purely sexual relationship, ("a roll in the hay"! ); as a "true love" relationship, and they could , for many months or years, give undiscerning women the impression that they are "in it for real, forever!"
When eventually, the women wake up to smell the coffee and choose to opt out of
When eventually, the women wake up to smell the coffee and choose to opt out of
