A new law prompted by a case where police failings led to the murder of two women has been revealed by the Home Office.

‘Raneem’s Law’ has been introduced in memory of Raneem Oudeh and her mother Khaola Saleem, who were murdered by Raneem’s estranged husband in 2018. 

The law will see domestic abuse specialists embedded in 999 control rooms by early 2025. 

Their specialist knowledge will see that cases are recognised, referred to appropriate services and agencies promptly, and receive the urgent attention that they need.

It will also see the launch of a new domestic abuse protection order pilot that will order more abusers to stay away from victims and impose tougher sanctions if they fail to do so. The Domestic Abuse Protection Orders (DAPOs) will provide a vital framework to strengthen legal protections for those at risk, including those experiencing emotional and coercive control, and place a clear emphasis on managing perpetrator behaviour through mandatory interventions and measures including electronic tagging and no maximum duration.

Afrah Qassim, CEO and Founder of Savera UK, said: “We welcome the introduction of ‘Raneem’s Law’ and believe that embedding domestic abuse specialists in 999 control rooms and the introduction of new DAPOs with tougher sanctions has clear potential to see more cases correctly identified, particularly in cases of HBA and harmful practices, and responded to swiftly and appropriately.

“However, effective implementation is vital. Much more detail is needed on how these initiatives will be put into action, including around training and vetting of specialists and the services and agencies that people at risk are referred to. Sadly, if these measures are not implemented correctly, they will not work.

“There must be robust training around HBA and harmful practices, which are often not easily identified and require a very different approach from frontline professionals when responding. 

“In our experience as a specialist HBA and harmful practice service, we see many frontline professionals working in the statutory and voluntary sector who are unaware of the laws that have been introduced to protect people from HBA and harmful practices. 

“These include the law banning virginity testing and Hymenoplasty, which was introduced under the Health and Care Act 2022 and the The Marriage and Civil Partnership (Minimum Age) Act 2022, which prohibits child marriage in England and Wales. We also see a lack of knowledge of these laws amongst individuals who may be affected.

“Without effective implementation these powerful tools will fail to have the desired impact. Savera UK will continue to embed these laws and now ‘Raneem’s Law’ into our training, education and community engagement. We are committed to working with the Home Office, and voluntary and statutory services to ensure effective implementation, as together this will help us to end HBA and harmful practices for good.”

Read more about ‘Raneem’s Law’ from the Home Office: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-measures-set-out-to-combat-violence-against-women-and-girls