An Alternative Means of Prosecuting Non-Physical Domestic Abuse: Are Stalking Laws an Under-Utilised Resource?

Abstract

The criminal law traditionally has focused exclusively on physical violence and some forms of financial wrongdoing. The recent interest in non-physical abuse has led to consideration of how this harm also might be addressed. Currently, much domestic abuse-including economic and psychological abuse-is indirectly criminalised via breaches of civil orders. This chapter investigates whether that abuse can, is and should also be directly criminalised through stalking laws, particularly in the context of an ongoing intimate relationship where the partners are cohabitating. In doing so, we discuss the broader issue of whether these laws constitute an adequate mechanism for dealing with non-physical abuse. We conclude that although stalking provisions can be used to prosecute non-physical domestic violence, restricted community and expert understandings of stalking suggest that the enactment of a domestic abuse-specific offence is a more appropriate solution to comprehensively deal with this form of abuse.