The Government has launched a consultation on whether the current domestic abuse offence could be strengthened by covering emotional as well as physical harm, by explicitly stating that it covers coercive behaviour.
Home Secretary Theresa May is consulting on creating the offence in England and Wales as part of attempts to improve police performance, which was condemned as “alarming and unacceptable” in a report by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary earlier this year.
The existing law already covers coercive and controlling behaviour but it does not explicitly apply to relationships. Under the proposals for the new law, however, threatening a partner with violence or refusing them access to money in a bid to limit their freedom, would be covered.
Earlier this year Mrs May ordered chief constables to come up with domestic abuse action plans by September and last year ministers redefined domestic abuse, telling forces and other criminal justice agencies that it included both violence and acts of psychological control that left victims in terror.
The new consultation document says that creating a specific offence of domestic abuse may send a clear and consistent message to frontline agencies that nonviolent control in an intimate relationship is criminal.
There are a number of laws that already cover acts of violence, stalking and harassment but none of them refers in their wording to personal relationships or the precise terms of the official definition of domestic abuse.
Mrs May said that tackling domestic abuse is a top priority for the Government but acknowledged that changing the law cannot be a substitute for improving the police response.
News of the consultation was welcomed by campaigners against violence in the home, with a spokesperson for charity Women’s Aid saying that the new law could help to give victims greater confidence to speak out sooner.