Valerie’s law is a proposal to tackle domestic abuse specifically among black communities, through a process of cultural competency training for the UK police force and it’s related bodies.
It’s named Valerie’s law after Valerie Forde who was murdered together with her 23 month old daughter Jahzara by her ex partner in 2014.
A few weeks before the murders took place Valerie had reported his threats to the police but they has been recorded as a threat to property rather than live. The police had come to the home after Valerie called 999 but left after allegedly knocking and hearing no answer. Entry to the home is said to have taken 40 minutes, during which time the murders took place.
What happened to Valerie and her daughter highlighted a severe knowledge gap when it comes to the black community and it’s domestic violence victims by the police force and related services such as hospitals.
The campaign aims to see specialist training introduced as standard practice for service providers, in order to help them better navigate domestic abuse within black communities, to better understand the cultural nuances and barriers, colloquialisms, languages and customs that make up the diverse black community.
The law still hasn’t been passed through parliament yet, but there is building pressure to make sure that it WILL happen eventually.
If you need help reporting or recovering from domestic abuse then please take a look at http://gemcic.co.uk, or drop me a message, help is out there.