Laws 1900s - 1990s

Matrimonial Causes Act 1937 and 1973 

The Matrimonial Causes Act 1937 was a law that was brought in from a Private Member's Bill from Sir Alan Patrick Herbert. These are ideas put forwards by an MP in Parliament which is then voted on by the rest of the parties. His bill had been sat for two years in the ballot box before it was finally put before Parliament. He had been a lawyer who had specialised in divorce law, so in the Act, he widened the grounds for divorce, giving women slightly more freedom to file to separate from their husbands. 

However, it was the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 which really helped to protect women from domestic violence by allowing them to leave their husbands with a lot less difficulty. The reasons for divorce were widened, and were more generally negative factors rather than offences. 

For example, Section 1(1) of the 1973 Act states "a petition for divorce may be presented to the court by either party to a marriage on the ground that the marriage has broken down irretrievably."

One of the following facts in Section 2 of the Act had to be followed to prove that the marriage had broken down irretrievably:

• (a) The respondent had committed adultery and the petitioner found it intolerable to live with
• (b) The respondent had behaved in such a way that the petitioner such not be reasonably expected to live with them.
• (c) The respondent had deserted the petitioner for a continuous period of at least two years.
• (d) The parties have been separated for over two years and both agree to the divorce.
• (e) The parties have been separated for over five years.

Compared to the previous reasons for divorce, the 1973 Act gave a lot more freedom to the courts to grant a divorce. Therefore, women suffering from domestic abuse could petition under section 2(b) if they could prove that their husband had treated them in such an unreasonable and cruel way that it would be wrong for them to continue living together. This breakthrough in the law means that nowadays, women have the ability to leave an abusive marriage without having to prove multiple factors which the court could just as easily dismiss regardless. 

Universal Declaration of Human Rights - 1948

In 1948, 150 countries in the United Nations came together to sign the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Article 2 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights applies all rights and freedoms equally to men and women and prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex. These freedoms and rights include equal pay for equal work, the right to health and the right to an education for all.

Although this does not directly address the issue of domestic abuse or harassment against women, it did state that women are entitled to the same rights as men in many other areas such as education and healthcare. It also paved the way for a later declaration called the UN Convention on the Elimination of Violence Against Women in 1993. It was the first international instrument explicitly addressing violence against women, providing a framework for national and international action.

Below is a photo of the opening statement of the declaration, proving that the UN recognised the need for more protection for women against domestic violence and how other countries needed to remove all forms of sex discrimination. By creating a universal set of standards about how to combat domestic abuse, it was much more likely to be effective rather than having all countries responding in completely different ways to the offences. 

1996 Housing Act

"The local authority will have a duty to help you if you are homeless or if you are threatened with homelessness. Threatened with homelessness means that you are likely to become homeless within 28 days. You can still be considered homeless if you are living in a refuge or if you have a home but it is likely that you will experience violence or threats of violence if you return. You will be considered unintentionally homeless if someone has used or threatened violence against you and you have been forced to leave your home because of domestic violence." - A quote from the Guide to domestic violence regarding housing and homelessness. 

By allowing victims of domestic abuse that are at threat of further violence or harm to seek emergency housing, the law has helped to prevent those future crimes. Women who are pregnant, have kids depending on them or have some sort of mental health issue or disability will be pushed up to the top of the list to find them essential accommodation. This allows victims to leave immediately, knowing that they should be situated in a new, sheltered place, albeit temporary, but safe nonetheless. 

However, regardless of these laws that are in place, women (particularly those with children) may not want to risk leaving their house and their abuser as they believe that they may not be given housing straight away or may be placed in temporary accommodation which is unfit for their circumstances and family.