2010s Laws
Serious Crime Act 2015
In this act, controlling and coercive behaviour within intimate or family relationships became something that could be an offence in the eyes of the law. The terms used were very clear and distinct, making sure that both the courts and the public were aware that there needed to be an 'intimate personal relationship' or a family connection in order for the behaviour to be classed as an offence. It also needed to be repeated or continuous over a subjective period of time.
Coercive and controlling behaviour is so often overlooked in relationships, although it can be a first sign of a potentially abusive relationship. In order to prevent these cases of physical domestic violence from occurring, the Conservative Government have passed this Act to criminalise the early signs such as control or apprehension of violence - which are still mentally and psychologically abusive in their own right - but protects the victims from physical harm.
An offender who is trialled for an indictable offence, which is likely to be controlling and coercive behaviour accompanied by another crime such as actual bodily harm, could receive up to 5 years imprisonment. Meanwhile, for a summary offence which is likely to be controlling or coercive behaviour alone or with a minor physical offence, the defendant could get up to 12 months imprisonment. You would like to think that the idea of a prison sentence would deter people from showing any behaviour that would cause others to fear violence or feel seriously controlled, and therefore it should prevent any more severe cases of domestic abuse from emerging from that.
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