Abuse Victims Spared Trauma Of Being Quizzed By Alleged Abusers

Abuse victims spared trauma of being quizzed by alleged abusers in court

When a party to family proceedings alleges that the other party has subjected them to domestic abuse the court will want to investigate the allegations, to ascertain the truth.

This investigation will of course include taking evidence from both parties. This means that the alleged victim will have to give evidence in court, and be cross-examined on behalf of the alleged abusers. And if the alleged abuser has not had a lawyer, which is often the case, particularly as legal aid is not available to them, the cross-examination has up until now been carried out by the alleged abuser themselves.

Obviously, this can be extremely distressing for the victim, adding to the trauma that they have already suffered. In fact, many abusers use this cross-examination as a means of continuing their abuse.