The Press and Journal (Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire)
Domestic violence campaigner dies aged 76
Michael Brown’s campaign for a woman’s “right to know” has shaped law all over the world.
The tireless Aberdonian activist, who successfully brought about the UK-wide introduction of a scheme that lets women uncover a partner’s potentially violent past, died on Saturday.
Mr Brown, 76, died at the Royal Hallamshire Hospital in Sheffield, with his family at his bedside, after a short illness.
The former prison officer, originally from Ferryhill, campaigned for “Clare’s Law” named after his daughter, Clare
Wood, which allows people to find out if their partner has a history of domestic violence.
The 36-year-old mother-ofone was murdered by her ex-boyfriend George Appleton in 2009.
Miss Wood never knew that Appleton, from Salford, had a history of violence towards women. He was found dead six days after her murder.
After lobbying politicians and the media, Mr Brown said he was “quietly delighted” about Clare’s Law, or the Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme, coming into force in England and Wales in March 2014.
It lets victims and potential victims obtain information about a partner’s previous convictions so they can make an informed decision on staying in a relationship, and closed a legal loophole allowing violent perpetrators to hide behind data protection law.
Similar initiatives were piloted in Aberdeen and Ayrshire later that year before the Disclosure Scheme For Domestic Abuse was rolled out across Scotland in 2015.
It later became law in Northern Ireland and is being trialled in Australia and Canada.
Mr Brown’s sister, Carol Whicher, said: “Michael never stopped fighting after he lost his daughter Clare in such horrific circumstances.
“He didn’t want anyone else to suffer the same fate she did and always said if he could save just one person from a life of domestic abuse his campaigning had been worth it.”
Earlier this year, Mr Brown, who settled in West Yorkshire, received a British Citizenship award.
He has been recognised in his home city, and was unveiled in February as one of the “everyday heroes” in a mosaic art installation in Flourmill Lane celebrating the achievements of Aberdonians worldwide, which he called “humbling”.