Why hasn’t the government done more to protect domestic abuse victims?

From the start, it was obvious that lockdown would have a devastating effect on domestic abuse victims, although it wasn’t possible to know just how bad it would be. But the picture is becoming clearer now. Abused women have been telling their stories: a survey this week by the charity Women’s Aid found almost two-thirds of victims said the abuse worsened during lockdown. In a BBC documentary this week a victim recounted how her abuser, after watching Boris Johnson’s televised announcement of lockdown restrictions, turned to her and said: ‘Let the games begin.’

Victoria Atkins, the minister for safeguarding, has demonstrated a good grasp of the problems women’s refuges face. But she works for a Home Secretary, Priti Patel, who has never seen domestic abuse as a top priority — unlike Theresa May, who took a personal interest in the matter when she led the department. Patel has continued to support the Domestic Abuse Bill, which was introduced in the final days of May’s government in July last year, and led a press conference on the subject in lockdown.