Judge declares war on wife beaters

Mar 1 2008 by Liz Keen, South Wales Echo

Violence in home not acceptable

TOP judge Nicholas Cooke’s hard line on domestic violence has been commended by an expert.

Morgan Fackrell, chief executive of Cardiff Women’s Aid, welcomed his “understanding of domestic violence”.

She said: “The cases that reach court are the tip of the iceberg and that’s why it’s so important that justice is done and seen to be done.

“Women and children have a right to be free from fear in their homes and we must make no excuses for violence.

“With all the training and good work done in probation, it’s surprising a report like this has come through. We hope that it was a one-off.

“I would suspect that the probation officer would not have been saying the same thing if the man had done this to someone in the street.

“When it’s done in the context of a relationship, somehow there’s a gloss put on it and that’s unacceptable.”

Ian Lankshear, Probation Service chief officer in South Wales, said he would be reviewing the file. He said: “We regard every case of domestic violence as serious.”

For Cardiff Women’s Aid, call 029 2046 0566.