Clare’s Law Awareness
A new petition is calling on the Government to fund a national campaign so more people know about their right to request information about a partner’s history of domestic abuse
A new parliamentary petition is calling for greater public awareness of Clare’s Law - the Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme.
Created by Ellie Budden-McCarthy, the petition asks the Government to fund a national awareness campaign, working alongside police forces and public services to make sure people know the scheme exists - including before entering a relationship.
Ellie’s call comes from lived experience. She says she only learned about Clare’s Law after her own circumstances had escalated to the point where police became involved.
Had she known about the scheme earlier, she says she would have requested a disclosure much sooner. And that raises an important question: how useful is a right if people don’t know they have it?
Clare’s Law allows someone to ask the police whether a current or former partner has a history that could indicate they may pose a risk of domestic abuse. But accessing that protection currently relies, in part, on people knowing that the scheme exists in the first place.
As Ellie puts it in her petition:
“I believe awareness should not depend on someone already knowing what to search for.”
The petition is calling for that to change.
It was published on 4 September 2026 and will remain open until 4 March 2027. At 10,000 signatures, the Government must respond; at 100,000, it will be considered for debate in Parliament.
Rights only have power when people know about them.
If you support greater awareness of Clare’s Law, you can read and sign the petition below - and share it with someone who might not know this right exists. Know it. Share it. Make yourself heard.
