Victim Personal Statement: Your Voice in a Domestic Abuse Case

Part of: Non Molestation Order

A victim personal statement tells a criminal court, in your own words, how a crime has affected you physically, emotionally or financially. The Victims’ Code gives every victim in England and Wales the right to make one. If the defendant admits the offence or a court convicts them, the judge or magistrates weigh it when they decide the sentence.

This guide is for people whose partner or ex is facing a criminal case for domestic abuse. It covers when to make the statement and how to add to it, who will read it and whether to read it aloud. The last part shows how the criminal case sits beside protection from the family court.

If you are in danger now, call 999. Our guide to domestic abuse helplines explains how to call 999 when you cannot speak. It also shows how to cover your tracks after reading a page like this.

Unsure what to put in your statement while a family court case is also running? You can book a free initial consultation with one of our specialists before you sign anything.

What is a victim personal statement?

It is a signed statement, given to the police, that explains how the crime has affected you and your family. The court reads it with the rest of the evidence when it decides the sentence. It can also help the police and support services work out what help you need (Victims’ Code, para 7.1).

The right comes from the Victims’ Code. The Secretary of State for Justice must issue that Code under section 32 of the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004. If you searched for victim personal statement UK guidance, note that the Code applies to victims of crime in England and Wales, and so does this guide.

As a victim of domestic abuse, you count as a victim of the most serious crime under the Code. That gives you Enhanced Rights, such as a referral to specialist support and faster contact after key decisions. You can also ask for a police interviewer of the gender you choose. The police must agree unless that would make the case unfair (Victims’ Code, para 2.8).

How is it different from your witness statement?

Your witness statement describes the events: what your ex said and did, and when. The personal statement describes what the crime has done to you since. Think of fear at home, lost sleep, time off work or changes in your children.

Both are formal. The police take the personal statement as a witness statement under section 9 of the Criminal Justice Act 1967, and the prosecution serves it on the defence (CrimPD 9.5.3). You sign a declaration that it is true to the best of your knowledge (GOV.UK guidance).

When should you make your statement, and can you add to it?

You can make it at any time before sentence, and the police should offer it when they take your witness statement (GOV.UK guidance). You cannot change or withdraw it later, but you can add another statement if the impact changes (Victims’ Code, Right 7).

The Code warns that the chance may pass once the hearing starts, especially after a guilty plea. For many victims, the best moment comes when the police charge the suspect and the full impact is clearer. A short first statement and a fuller second one is a common pattern, because abuse often hurts most in the weeks after a report.

Whether you make one at all is your decision. The Criminal Practice Directions (9.5.2) say nobody should pressure you. The court should draw no conclusion if you choose not to make one. A statement after sentence is exceptional, and the usual reason for one is an appeal.

Who reads a victim personal statement?

Everyone in the case can read it: the defendant and their lawyers, the police, the prosecutor and the judge or magistrates. The police remove your contact details, but your words stay in (GOV.UK guidance).

The court only uses it if the defendant admits the offence or a court convicts them. If the court agrees the content is relevant, the defence can ask you questions about it (CrimPD 9.5.5). A part read aloud in open court stops being confidential, and the media can report it (CrimPD 9.5.7; Victims’ Code, Right 7).

When the defendant is your partner or ex, write as if they will read every line, because they probably will. That matters most if you share children or a home, or have a family court case running too.

How to write a victim impact statement that the court can use

Write plainly about the effects of the crime on you and the people close to you, with specific examples. The police, the Witness Care Unit or a victim support service can help you record it. The police usually take it in the same format as your witness statement, so they may video record it.

People often search for victim personal statement examples. We do not publish a template, because a statement copied from someone else reads that way to a judge. Covering the right ground in your own words helps far more.

What can you include?

The government leaflet suggests these areas. Each works best with a concrete example rather than a general word like “devastated”:

• physical, emotional, psychological or financial harm, and any treatment or counselling since
• whether you feel vulnerable or intimidated, or no longer feel safe at home
• the effect on your family, including your children
• how your daily life has changed, such as work, sleep, money or seeing friends
• any extra support you need, for example to give evidence at a trial

What must you leave out?

Leave out your view on what the sentence should be. The court must disregard any opinion on sentence, because that decision belongs to the judge or magistrates (CrimPD 9.5.8).

Unproven claims against the defendant may be removed before the statement reaches court (GOV.UK guidance). A sentencing court also cannot assume an effect you have not described, unless it follows from the nature of the offence (CrimPD 9.5.4). So leaving out something real can matter as much as adding something unproven.

Can you read your statement aloud in court?

You can ask to, and the judge or magistrates will follow your preference unless there is good reason not to. They decide whether anyone reads it aloud or plays it, which parts, and who reads it: you or the prosecutor (Victims’ Code, para 7.4).

Good reasons include content the court cannot admit, or a risk of harm to you or others from reading it out (CrimPD 9.5.6). Courts do not adjourn a hearing just so you can attend to read it (CrimPD 9.5.7). Tell the Witness Care Unit early if you want to be there.

You do not have to read it at all, and you can change your mind about reading it. The court gives the statement the same weight whether or not anyone reads it aloud (Victims’ Code, para 7.5).

What does the Victims’ Code promise you in a domestic abuse case?

It promises information about the process when you report, and a choice about reading your statement aloud. It also lets you make further statements as the impact changes and ask the police for a copy of your statement (Victims’ Code, para 7.3).

If the offender is sentenced to 12 months or more in prison for a specified violent or sexual offence, Right 11 gives you an automatic referral to the Victim Contact Scheme. The scheme is also offered when that sentence is for controlling or coercive behaviour (Victims’ Code, Right 11). GOV.UK says its members must have the chance to make a statement to the Parole Board. That later statement can say what release would mean for you. If you believe a service has not met one of your rights, you can complain to it (Victims’ Code, Right 12).

How does the criminal case fit with protection from the family court?

They run separately, and you do not have to wait for the criminal case to finish. If the abuser is a partner, ex or relative, you can ask the family court for a non-molestation order yourself, and there is no fee (GOV.UK).

Breaking a non-molestation order is a criminal offence with a maximum of five years in prison (Family Law Act 1996, s.42A). Our guide to the non-molestation order explains the application. Our page on the power of arrest on non-molestation orders explains what the police can do. A criminal case can take months and may end without a conviction, so many people apply while it is still running.

After a conviction, the criminal court can add a restraining order (Sentencing Act 2020, s.360). Our guide on how to get a restraining order explains both routes. In a case about the children, the family court decides disputed abuse for itself, at a fact-finding hearing if needed (Practice Direction 12J, para 16). It can also direct the police to disclose material from the criminal case (para 19(f)).

Keeping your two accounts in step

Keep what you say in each court consistent. If a detail in your personal statement does not match your family court witness statement, either court may ask you about it. Our guides to coercive control and domestic harassment explain how courts look at a pattern of behaviour rather than one incident.

Victim personal statement guide: what to do at your stage

Three answers show what timing, reading aloud and the family court mean for you right now. This page does not send or store anything you choose.

Victim personal statement: frequently asked questions

General information about the law in England and Wales, not advice on your circumstances.