Member

The current bail arrangements under the Bail Act 1976 allow police and courts to impose conditions to prevent reoffending or interference with victims and witnesses. Although children affected by domestic abuse are recognised as victims under the Domestic Abuse Act 2021, they are rarely included in bail conditions, even when their parent is accused of rape or other serious sexual offences. There are related and growing concerns that fathers accused of these sorts of offences retain direct or indirect contact with their children, potentially enabling witness intimidation, manipulation or coercive control of the mother. The proposed amendment would require that, whenever bail is granted to a person accused of one of these offences, an automatic condition must be imposed prohibiting direct or indirect contact with any of the accused’s children. This would help guarantee the children’s protection from witness tampering and the children’s parent’s protection from intimidation and coercion.