Stop the violence

SEX offenders will have no place to hide after Britain's biggest crack down on violence against women and girls, says the Home Secretary.

- ALEXANDER BROWN Assistant Political Editor and DAVID BURKE

Shabana Mahmood will next week unveil a package of measures in a new strategy to tackle the issue, which she designated a national emergency.

One of them is that the scope of Clare's Law, the Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme to tell women about a partner's violent past, will be widened.

The scheme is named after Clare Wood, who was murdered aged 36 by her ex George Appleton in 2009.

She had reported him to police several times but was never told of his long history of violence against women, including a three-year jail term for harassing another victim.

Currently the Clare's Law or DVDS guidance only covers domestic abuse - an offence against a partner, an ex or their close contacts. But under the proposed shakeup, all violence against women and girls-related offences - such as assault of a stranger or online harassment - could be disclosed.

Ms Mahmood told this paper that the move will give women more “power and control” over their safety.