Will domestic abuse protection notices and orders improve victim protection and assure the United Kingdom’s compliance with the Istanbul Convention?

The Domestic Abuse Act 2021 introduces two new civil preventative measures - Domestic Abuse Protection Notices (DAPNs) and Domestic Abuse Protection Orders (DAPOs) - with the aim of improving the protection afforded to victims of domestic abuse in England and Wales. This chapter evaluates whether DAPNs and DAPOs will improve victim protection. It will also examine whether the new orders will assure compliance with the UK’s obligations under the Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women (the Istanbul Convention). The Istanbul Convention is the first international treaty to explicitly recognise that protection orders should be a core element of any coordinated, strategic response to domestic abuse, and to require states to protect domestic abuse victims through protection orders. The UK has recently ratified the Istanbul Convention, so exploring the issue of compliance with international human rights obligations is timely and important.