Domestic Abuse Policy

legal definition of the types of domestic abuse.  The Act incorporates a range of abuses, beyond physical violence, including emotional, coercive or controlling behaviour, as well as economic abuse. 

Behaviour of a person (“A”) towards another person (“B”) is “domestic abuse” if—

(a)A and B are each aged 16 or over and are personally connected to each other, and

(b)the behaviour is abusive.

Behaviour is abusive if it consists of any of the following—

(a)physical or sexual abuse;

(b)violent or threatening behaviour;

(c)controlling or coercive behaviour;

(d)economic abuse (see subsection (4));

(e)psychological, emotional or other abuse;

and it does not matter whether the behaviour consists of a single incident or a course of conduct.

Economic abuse means any behaviour that has a substantial adverse effect on B's ability to—

(a)acquire, use or maintain money or other property, or

(b)obtain goods or services.

For the purposes of the Act A's behaviour may be behaviour “towards” B despite the fact that it consists of conduct directed at another person (for example, B's child).

Definition of Personally Connected

Two people are personally connected to each other if any of the following applies—

(a)they are, or have been, married to each other;

(b)they are, or have been, civil partners of each other;

(c)they have agreed to marry one another (whether or not the agreement has been terminated);

(d)they have entered into a civil partnership agreement (whether or not the agreement has been terminated);

(e)they are, or have been, in an intimate personal relationship with each other;

(f)they each have, or there has been a time when they each have had, a parental relationship in relation to the same child;

(g)they are relatives.

A person has a parental relationship in relation to a child if—

(a)the person is a parent of the child, or

(b)the person has parental responsibility for the child.

• Child means a person under the age of 18 years;

• civil partnership agreement has the meaning given by section 73 of the Civil Partnership Act 2004;

• parental responsibility has the same meaning as in the Children Act 1989 (see section 3 of that Act);

• relative has the meaning given by section 63(1) of the Family Law Act 1996.

Children as victims of domestic abuse

(a)sees or hears, or experiences the effects of, the abuse, and

(b)is related to A or B

A child is related to a person 

(a)the person is a parent of, or has parental responsibility for, the child, or

(b)the child and the person are relatives.

In this section—

• child means a person under the age of 18 years;

• parental responsibility has the same meaning as in the Children Act 1989 (see section 3 of that Act);

• relative has the meaning given by section 63(1) of the Family Law Act 1996.