"Domestic abuse is everyone's problem": why criminalising coercive control just isn't enough
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Following their consultation “strengthening the Law on Domestic Abuse”, the Government plans to introduce a law on domestic abuse which criminalises ‘coercive control’.
By Siobhan Weare
The legislation will make controlling and coercive behaviour between those in an intimate relationship a criminal offence. Introducing such legislation is not sufficient to combat the issue of domestic abuse unless it is supported by an improvement in the responses of criminal justice agencies to abuse, and increased investment in support services for victims.
Currently, domestic abuse is not criminalised as a specific offence; however, victims of physical violence are offered protection under existing criminal offences. Protection is also offered under civil law in the form of non-molestation and occupation orders. The police have been given additional powers through the Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme (Clare’s Law), to disclose information on request about whether an individual’s partner has a...
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