Kirsty Pellant is among victims whose perpetrator was expected to be released in the coming months.
A man was convicted of several offences against her, including stalking, and jailed for five years in January 2025 after she discovered her photograph had been used to create a fake identity online and portray her as a sex worker.
She told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme she had received assurances he would not be let out in the first wave of releases but was not told when he would be.
The uncertainty “leaves us in such a dangerous position as victims because we need to be prepared, we need to know what we’re dealing with,” she added.
Prisoners released early can immediately be returned to prison if they breach the terms of their licence, including by committing another crime, contacting a victim or living at an address not approved by authorities.
However, charities have raised concerns that domestic abuse survivors may still be put at risk, despite such provisions.
“We know that license conditions are frequently breached by perpetrators”, the charity Refuge warned, and cautioned that it was “deeply concerned that newly released perpetrators will be able to continue their campaign of abuse” without proper enforcement.
Women’s Aid chief executive Farah Nazeer meanwhile said the scheme could further erode “incredibly low” trust in the criminal justice system, meaning “even greater numbers of women and children may be left without protection”.
Ministers have also introduced restrictions zones, which will allow the Probation Service – which monitors offenders after they leave prison – to stipulate they can only move within a small geographic area, limiting their chance of a victim coming into contact with them.
But the National Association of Probation Officers (Napo) trade union has warned the service is “significantly under-staffed”, adding: “You cannot solve the prisons crisis unless probation is fully functioning and provides a real alternative to custody.”
The union’s general secretary Ian Lawrence questioned government pledges to increase probation staff to deal with the influx of released prisoners, telling the BBC he had “heard it all before”.
Government projections indicate the prison population will still rise to around 100,000 by the end of the decade despite early release schemes.
Minister have pledged to invest £7bn in a prison building programme which will expand capacity by 14,000 cells by 2031.
