From social construct to legal innovation: The offence of controlling or coercive behaviour in England and wales

Abstract

In December 2015, a new offence was introduced in England and Wales: controlling or coercive behaviour in an intimate or family relationship. This chapter reviews the societal, political, and legislative developments that paved the way for the introduction of that offence. In particular, this chapter discusses an apparent frustration with societal and governmental understandings of what constitutes domestic abuse, particularly in light of continued resistance to utilising the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 (UK) to prosecute domestic abuse offenders. A change to those understandings was made possible by the groundbreaking work of Evan Stark, who highlighted that domestic abuse could be better understood as an ongoing strategy of domination, and that the harm inflicted on victims is as much structural (the deprivation of liberty) and psychological (emotional) as it is physical (injuries). This chapter describes and evaluates the attempt in England and Wales to translate Stark’s construct of ‘coercive control’ into the criminal offence of ‘controlling or coercive behaviour’.