Over the last 20 years Domestic Abuse charities, campaigners and lawyers have worked tirelessly to highlight domestic abuse as being a serious crime and something which society should not tolerate. Gradually over time there has been greater social awareness about domestic violence and abuse and The Serious Crime Act 2015 is now the first ‘serious’ response to campaigners calls that non-physical domestic abuse is ‘criminal’ and that perpetrators should be brought to justice.

As a family lawyer I have been representing victims and perpetrators of domestic violence for over 20 years. I am also Chair of the national charity ‘The Corporate Alliance Against domestic Violence’, working with the Home Office on domestic violence issues. I have seen first hand that domestic violence and abuse recognises no social or economic boundaries and that the sophistication of perpetrators means that victims find it very difficult to escape and survive such abuse without help and support. My team and I have helped women, children and men from every socio economic background and each case presents it’s own specific set of challenges and legal issues. What we have seen is that domestic abuse has a broad impact on society, with many children growing up in a household where domestic abuse becomes ‘normal’ behaviour for them and the cycle of abuser and victim can continue from generation to generation. We all have a responsibility to say that we will not turn a blind eye and we will not tolerate it in today’s society.

Lawyers can make a big difference to the lives of victims and survivors of domestic abuse, making court applications to protect victims and their family members from violence and repeated indirect and direct intimidation and control, ensuring that perpetrators can be removed from a household and that victims are given the right to stay, securing financial support and most importantly, protecting children. We can help survivors move on to the next stage in their lives safely and with support and resource. However, what about the perpetrators? Are they always brought to justice?

Victims of domestic abuse are supported by the Police and the Crown Prosecution Service who now take allegations of domestic abuse very seriously. However, in terms of punishment the police and Crown Prosecution Service have always been ready and able to punish perpetrators of physical violence but have always struggled to address and punish perpetrators of more sophisticated emotional and non-physical abuse.

The impact of The Serious Crime Act 2015 (The Act) is significant. So what does it mean?

The Act recognises that domestic abuse is broader than physical violence inflicted by a perpetrator on a family member or a person with whom he or she is involved in a relationship.

In 2015 The Home Office Statutory Guidance issued a guidance framework which helps us to understand what constitutes coercive controlling behaviour which includes but is not limited to;

• Isolating a person from friends or family
• Depriving them of their basic needs
• Monitoring their time
• Monitoring a person via online communication tools or using spyware
• taking control over aspects of their everyday life, such as where they can go, who they can see, what to wear and when they can sleep;
• depriving them of access to support services, such as specialist support or medical services;
• repeatedly putting them down such as telling them they are worthless;
• enforcing rules and activity which humiliate, degrade or dehumanise the victim;
• forcing the victim to take part in criminal activity such as shoplifting, neglect or abuse of children to encourage self-blame and prevent disclosure to authorities;
• financial abuse including control of finances, such as only allowing a person a punitive allowance;
• threats to hurt or kill;
• threats to a child;
• threats to reveal or publish private information (e.g. threatening to ‘out’ someone).
• assault;
• criminal damage (such as destruction of household goods);
• rape;
• preventing a person from having access to transport or from working.

The Act recognises that controlling or coercive behaviour does not only happen in the home, the victim can be monitored by phone or social media from a distance. An important element of the new legislation is that the victim must have been made to fear violence on at least two occasions or adapt their everyday behaviour as a result of serious alarm or distress. A fundamental element is that the perpetrator knows or “ought to know” that it will have a serious effect on the victim.

Ridley & Hall regularly act for clients who are victims of coercive control and we know how single events of coercive and controlling behaviour don’t look serious when considered on their own merit, but when considered alongside a whole catalogue of events a very serious picture emerges for the victim who needs legal advice and also support from the police and which should result in prosecution. We have made a Freedom of Information request to assess how the police and Crown Prosecution Services are responding to this new opportunity to address this non-physical crime. The results show that police forces are responding positively but to date charges and subsequent prosecutions continue to be challenging, generally because of evidential issues. Campaigners like me and my colleagues at Ridley & Hall and The Corporate Alliance Against Domestic Violence hope that our law enforcers will continue to work tirelessly to overcome such challenges and this will help us to deliver our broader social message…

Domestic Violence and Abuse will not be tolerated.

Survivors will be supported.

Perpetrators will be punished.

Contact the family Department at Ridley & Hall  on 01484 538 421  to receive specialist domestic abuse advice and representation. Legal aid is available subject to eligibility and we will conduct a free Legal Aid Assessment.

Emma Pearmaine – Director Family & Matrimonial