Controlling or coercive behaviour legislation

The Serious Crime Act (2015) created a new offence of controlling or coercive behaviour in intimate or familial relationships (section 76).

This briefing paper sets out how controlling or coercive behaviour relates to economic abuse.

In December 2017, Surviving Economic Abuse published ‘Into Plain Sight’ – an analysis of how economic abuse is reflected in successful prosecutions of controlling or coercive behaviour.

In the report we recommended that:

1. Statutory guidance on controlling or coercive behaviour should name and define economic abuse

[UPDATE: in January 2019 the government committed to: include reference to economic abuse in the statutory guidance for the offence of controlling or coercive behaviour; and update legal guidance for prosecutors to ensure cases of economic abuse can be successfully prosecuted]

2. The Westminster Government should recognise economic abuse within the statutory definition of domestic violence that is being developed within the Domestic Violence and Abuse Bill.

[UPDATE: in January 2018 the government committed to include economic abuse in the new statutory government definition of domestic abuse and accompanying statutory guidance to ensure that economic abuse and its impact is legally recognised, to improve knowledge and awareness of the issue and provide better support to victims]

3. Consideration needs to be given about how to address forms of economic abuse which result in economic costs to the victim in sentencing and possibly criminal injury claims.

[UPDATE: The Sentencing Council issued a ‘Definitive Guideline’ for Intimidatory Offences on 1 October 2018. An aggravating factor introduced within the guidance is ‘victim left in debt, destitute or homeless.’]

4. Awareness-raising activity needs to be undertaken so that behaviours which seek to interfere with an individual’s ability to acquire, use and maintain economic resources are understood as abusive.

5. The Westminster Government should consider making economic abuse a criminal offence.

6. Responses to domestic violence cases should incorporate an understanding of both physical and economic safety.

SEA is currently in the process of updating this analysis and will publish a new report in the latter half of 2019.

We are inviting victim-survivors who have pursued a successful prosecution to get in touch: [email protected],org

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