The Serious Crimes Act was amended in 2015 in relation to domestic abuse incidents, to include the registering of coercive control in an intimate or family relationship as a criminal offence; but what is ‘coercive control’?
Coercive control can involve a one-off act or a pattern of acts.These can range from controlling what a person wears, who they talk to, where they go to how much money they can spend.It can involve affecting another individual’s daily life through means of assault, intimidation, humiliation and the use of threats to control or restrict their freedom. An example of coercive control would be demanding access to a partners’ email or social media accounts and questioning them about the contents of such accounts; this is something that could hugely affect their privacy and thus behaviour.
A recent case that has been highlighted in the media is that of Sally Challen. Sally was convicted in 2011 of murdering her husband, having claimed to have suffered through 30 years of domestic abuse during their relationship. At the time of her conviction, however, the type of abuse she had been subject to was not considered to be domestic abuse and was therefore not registered as a criminal offence in itself. The prosecution in the case painted her as a scorned, jealous woman who had murdered her husband over his affairs and lifestyle. The defence argued that she had suffered from a depressive episode which had affected her state of mind, therefore downplaying the extent of the abuse she had suffered.Sally was convicted of murder by a jury and sentenced to 22 years life imprisonment, which was later reduced to 18 years on appeal.
Following the introduction of a new offence of controlling or coercive behaviour in an intimate or family relationship within Section 76 of the Serious Crimes Act, Sally’s legal team, along with Justice for Women, launched an appeal against her initial conviction. They claimed that the abuse she had suffered came under this new criminal offence listing and should therefore be considered as her own defence. A psychiatric report was submitted to the Court outlining how being subject to coercive control can affect an individual’s mind and their behaviour, to the extent that they may be capable of committing a crime as severe as that committed by Sally. The report stated that Sally was suffering from two mental disorders at the time of the murder and, as a result, her conviction was repressed and the Judge ordered for a retrial. Sally has since submitted a plea for manslaughter on diminished responsibility and has been released from prison, having already served an eight year sentence.
Coercive control in a relationship now carries a maximum five year jail sentence. Last month, the Government announced that both non-physical and economic abuse will be included in the first legal definition of domestic abuse, as part of a landmark overhaul of the law. This will pave the way for the outcomes of similar future cases and allow for reconsideration of past cases in which coercive control may have played a factor.
If you require any advice or assistance in relation to domestic abuse, please contact our dedicated Family team here at Ramsdens. The team will provide the reassurance and help you may need and can connect you with a number of different support agencies in the local area.
If you would like to speak with a member of our Family team, please call us on 08000 147720, or send us an email to book a free information session at any of our offices across Yorkshire