Imagine receiving a letter telling you that the person who terrorized, abused, or raped you is walking free months earlier than expected. For hundreds of domestic abuse survivors in England and Wales, this isn't a hypothetical nightmare. It's happening right now. They're installing security cameras, double-checking window locks, and realizing that the state has basically handed the burden of a broken prison system over to them.
The Sentencing Act passed in January was supposed to fix an overcrowding crisis decades in the making. Instead, it triggered an entirely new emergency. The state is releasing prisoners early, and the promised safeguards for victims are completely missing.
Promises Broken on Early Release Safeguards
When Labour pushed through emergency measures last year, over 38,000 prisoners were let out to keep the wings from overflowing. Those temporary measures had some strict exemptions. The new legislation doesn't. This law includes no automatic exemptions for perpetrators of domestic abuse, serious violence, or even terrorism.
That gaping hole in the law is why Claire Waxman, the victims commissioner, and Nicole Jacobs, the domestic abuse commissioner, took the rare step of writing separate, urgent letters to Justice Secretary David Lammy and Prisons Minister Lord James Timpson. They want the planned early releases of anyone convicted of crimes against women and girls paused immediately.
They aren't acting on a whim. They were promised specific, concrete protections before the bill passed. Those promises haven't been kept.
- No thorough risk assessments: Local probation services are swamped and cannot effectively evaluate every offender hitting the streets early.
- Blind support networks: Specialist charities and support services are being left in the dark without a clear picture of the perpetrator’s risk level or management plan.
- Botched communication: Victims are finding out through cold, standard letters that offer zero reassurance and plenty of panic.
Waxman didn't mince words. She explicitly stated she has no confidence that the probation service can manage this volume of offenders in the community. When communication becomes a disastrous afterthought, trust in the justice system completely evaporates.
The Reality of Surviving the Justice System
The numbers are bad, but the human stories are devastating. One survivor of non-recent child sexual abuse confessed to buying CCTV because she simply doesn't trust the government to keep her safe anymore.
Another woman shared that the man who raped her breached a non-molestation order 26 times during the five agonizing years it took to get her case to trial. Under these rules, he could spend less time behind bars than the years she spent fighting for a conviction. She gets a life sentence of fear while he gets an early exit ticket.
Right now, prisoners locked up for certain violent or sexual offences can walk free at the halfway mark of their sentence rather than serving the standard two-thirds.
The Ministry of Justice defends itself by pointing to its wallet. They talk about a £700 million investment in probation by 2028, promises of electronic tagging, exclusion zones, and a £550 million injection into victim support services, including a new helpline. But a promise of funding by 2028 does absolutely nothing for a woman whose abuser walks out of prison this September.
Actionable Steps for Affected Victims
If you or someone you know has received a notification letter or fears an abuser might be eligible for early release under the Sentencing Act, don't wait for the system to catch up. Take these immediate steps to secure your safety and voice.
1. Register with the Victim Contact Scheme
If the offender received a sentence of 12 months or more for a specified violent or sexual crime, you are entitled to updates through the Victim Contact Scheme (VCS). If you haven't been contacted, reach out to your local probation trust or victim care hub immediately to ensure you are enrolled. This gives you the right to make representations about licence conditions, such as keeping them away from your home or workplace.
2. Demand a Safety Review via Your Support Worker
If you are supported by an Independent Domestic Violence Advisor (IDVA) or an Independent Sexual Violence Advisor (ISVA), ask them to urgently liaise with the local Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA) team. Demand a clear statement on whether a robust risk assessment has been completed for your specific case.
3. Update Your Personal Safety and Legal Protections
Do not rely on automatic prison exclusion zones. Work with police or domestic abuse charities to refresh your personal safety plan. If an existing non-molestation order or restraining order is nearing its expiry date, apply to the family court for an extension well before the offender’s projected release date.
The government claims public safety is its top priority. But until ministers prove that risk assessments are happening in every single case, the state is failing its most fundamental duty: protecting the vulnerable from the people who already harmed them.
