Domestic abuse does not simply end when a relationship ends, when an offender is convicted, or when a court order is put in place. For many victims, the period after separation or conviction can bring continued controlling behaviour, harassment, stalking and fear. That is why I believe domestic abuse offenders must be excluded from early release schemes.

The Government has recognised the seriousness of certain offences by excluding some sexual and child abuse offenders from early release provisions. Domestic abuse victims deserve that same consideration. Controlling and coercive behaviour, intentional strangulation and stalking are serious offences, and they should not be treated as somehow less deserving of protection.

Domestic abuse is often not one isolated incident. It can be a sustained pattern of power, control, intimidation and violence. A conviction does not automatically mean that behaviour or the risk to the victim disappears. Restraining orders and other protective measures are incredibly important, but they cannot physically prevent a determined perpetrator from attempting to contact, intimidate, monitor or harm their victim.

Victims already endure enormous psychological harm throughout the criminal justice process. They report their abuse, provide evidence, wait for cases to progress and often spend months or years living with uncertainty. When a custodial sentence is finally imposed, victims should be able to have some certainty about what happens next. Discovering that their perpetrator could return to the community significantly earlier than expected can bring that fear straight back.

This is also about recognising the seriousness of coercive control. Coercive control is not simply an argument or a difficult relationship; it is a criminal pattern of behaviour designed to dominate another person and strip away their independence and freedom. Intentional strangulation is an extremely serious act of violence. Stalking can involve persistent, obsessive and frightening behaviour that leaves victims feeling watched and unsafe even in their own homes.

Prison overcrowding is a serious problem, but victims of domestic abuse should not be expected to carry the consequences of solving it.

We cannot continually talk about the rights and freedoms of perpetrators while overlooking the freedom of victims, the freedom to live without fear, to feel safe in their own homes, to rebuild their lives and to know that the justice system genuinely prioritises their protection.

This petition therefore calls on the Government to exclude domestic abuse offenders from early release schemes, including those convicted of controlling or coercive behaviour, intentional strangulation and stalking, and to ensure victim safety and risk are placed at the heart of decisions about release.

Victims have already served a sentence they were never given. They should not be asked to sacrifice their safety so that their perpetrator can serve less of theirs.