Domestic Abuse Disclosure Schemes: Regulatory responsibility and coherent legality, or a vulnerability 'policy spiral'?

This thesis is the first full independent analysis of the law, policy and regulation relating to the operation of different Domestic Abuse Disclosure Schemes (DADS), in a number of common law jurisdictions. DADS typically deploy a 'right to ask' strand and a 'right to know' strand. These respective strands represent the ability to ask the police for information on the domestic violence offending history of a current or former partner, and the ability of a police to proactively consider the sharing of such information. Under the common law that operates in each jurisdiction of the UK as a whole, such disclosures can be made where a 'pressing need' to do so exists, while other legal considerations under data protection law and human rights law also apply.

This interdisciplinary thesis argues that DADS have risen to a disproportionate prominence in the landscape of public protection, and in policy on the prevention of domestic violence. Problematically, no thorough government study has ever been undertaken to rigorously explore whether the disclosure of information concerning the criminal history of one person, to that person's intimate partner, will ultimately increase the likelihood of keeping the recipient safe. The main criticism in this thesis, however, is not levelled at the core aims of DADS, per se, but at the manner in which they have proliferated in the common law world (in what can be described as a 'policy spiral') without proper critical evaluation to date by policymakers, the police or any other government agency in the UK or elsewhere. This thesis argues that DADS must be evaluated, where they have entered or might enter a public protection landscape, in terms of the exposure to victimisation that faces the recipients of disclosures. This thesis also makes recommendations for reforming DADS policy in the UK.