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Conclusion

  • Gap in the Law
  • Closed by Section 76 of the Serious Crime Act 2015
  • Effective Implementation is still required

CASES

Coercive and Controlling Behaviour

After the Act was introduced

Coercive behaviour Controlling behaviour

Before the Act was Introduced

  • Coercive behaviour in a teenage relationship (Chlo)
  • Psychological Abuse
  • Threats of self-harm
  • SENTENCE: He was arrested for harassment and got a suspended prison sentence, electronic tagging and a curfew; he paid her compensation and has a restraining order of five years.

Mischief

Section 76 of the Serious Crimes Act 2015

Statistics before the Act was enacted

Section 1

(1)A person (A) commits an offence if—

(a)A repeatedly or continuously engages in behaviour towards another person (B) that is controlling or coercive,

(b)at the time of the behaviour, A and B are personally connected,

(c)the behaviour has a serious effect on B, and

(d)A knows or ought to know that the behaviour will have a serious effect on B.

  • 77 Women were killed by their partners or ex-partners in 2012 to 2013.
  • Police receive an emergency call relating to domestic abuse every 30 seconds

Section 2

(2)A and B are “personally connected” if—

(a)A is in an intimate personal relationship with B, or

(b)A and B live together and—

(i)they are members of the same family, or

(ii)they have previously been in an intimate personal relationship with each other.

Section 4

(4)A’s behaviour has a “serious effect” on B if—

(a)it causes B to fear, on at least two occasions, that violence will be used against B, or

(b)it causes B serious alarm or distress which has a substantial adverse effect on B’s usual day-to-day activities

Section 8

(8)In proceedings for an offence under this section it is a defence for A to show that—

(a)in engaging in the behaviour in question, A believed that he or she was acting in B’s best interests, and

(b)the behaviour was in all the circumstances reasonable.

  • No law for coercive or controlling behaviour
  • Similar crimes would be charged under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997
  • The Serious Crime Act 2015 Section 76 aimed to rectify this
  • In theory - effective
  • In practice - poorly executed

The 'Old' Law

  • Protection from Harassment Act 1997

Statistics after the Act was enacted

  • Research shows that from 2016-2017, only 202 people were charged with the offence
  • Two police forces have not charged a single individual with the offence

References

Legislation.gov.uk

Section 76 Serious Crimes Act 2015

(slide 5) Everyone’s Business: Improving the Police Response to Domestic Abuse, HMIC 2014

https://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmicfrs/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/improving-the-police-response-to-domestic-abuse.pdf

(slide 15 & 18) Coercive Control, BBC Radio 5 Live, April 2017

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08mv17j

(slide 17) Controlling or Coercive Behaviour in an Intimate of Family Relationship, Home Office, 2015 https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/482528/Controlling_or_coercive_behaviour_-_statutory_guidance.pdf

https://www.womensaid.org.uk/16-days-coercive-control-abusive-behaviour-in-teenage-relationships/

Women's Aid (Saturday 5th December 2015)

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4768400/Boyfriend-one-convicted-coercive-control.html

Keiligh Baker for Mail Online 7th August 2017

Suggestions

http://www.cps.gov.uk/legal/a_to_c/controlling_or_coercive_behaviour/

CPS.GOV.UK

Reviewed 30/06/2017

  • Mandatory training course from mental health specialists
  • Psychological harm should be mentioned in the act
  • Broad definition of controlling and coercive behaviour

https://www.lsbu.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0020/9335/family-intimate-relationships-sociological-families-research-working-paper.pdf

Family and Intimate Relationships: A review of the Sociological Research : Val Gillies

June 2003, Published by London South Bank University

http://www.virginia.edu/vpr/irb/sbs/resources_guide_risk_define_types.html#Economic

Institutional Review Board for Social and Behavioural Sciences; University of Virginia

Published 26/03/2012

Advantages and Disadvantages

Advantages

  • It closes a gap in the law.
  • Deterrence
  • There is a defence to protect the innocent
  • Protects the victim from oblivious offenders
  • Lack of definition - flexibility

Disadvantages

  • Lack of definition of 'controlling or coercive behaviour'
  • Inadequate Police training

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Objectives

  • To understand the mischief that Section 76 of the Serious Crimes Act 2015 aimed to rectify
  • To examine the effectiveness of the Act in intimate relationships
  • To make suggestions if the Act is not effective in limiting controlling or coercive behaviour in such relationships

Controlling or Coercive Behaviour in Intimate Relationships

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