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The long-awaited Domestic Abuse Act 2021: What it means for victims

The long-awaited Domestic Abuse Act 2021 came into force on 29 April, offering enhanced protection and support to the millions of people who experience domestic abuse each year. Melanie Bridgen, partner and family law solicitor at Nelsons, outlines the key aspects of the act.

According to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics, an estimated 2.3 million adults in England and Wales experienced domestic abuse between April 2019 and March 2020, resulting in 758,941 related crimes being recorded by the police.

Being abused by a partner or family member is a frightening experience and the introduction of the act has come as a welcome relief to the millions of victims across the country whose circumstances will most likely have been worsened as a result of the pandemic and lockdown restrictions.

Changes brought in by the act

The act has broadened the legal definition of domestic abuse and provides enhanced protection and support to victims, while also providing greater punishment to perpetrators.

For the first time in history, the statutory definition of domestic abuse has been widened to incorporate a range of abuses beyond physical violence, including emotional abuse, coercive or controlling behaviour and economic abuse.

As part of this, children who have seen, heard or otherwise suffered the impact of abuse can now be regarded as victims of domestic violence.

It also recognises and legislates against new forms of abuse, such as revenge porn and the sharing of indecent images, and creates a new offence of ‘non-fatal strangulation’, which carries a specific criminal offence punishable by five years’ imprisonment.

Loopholes that have previously allowed offenders to go unpunished have been closed, with new laws introduced on the so-called ‘rough-sex gone wrong defence’ involving death or serious injury.

The act also recognises that domestic abuse is not confined to the home environment and that victims are often most at risk when they leave their abuser’s house – meaning they are still protected even if they do not or no longer live with the perpetrator.

Local authorities in England are now required to provide the services and safety that victims need wherever they are in the country, including support to victims and their children in refuges or other safe accommodation.

Further actions introduced include a statutory presumption that domestic violence victims are eligible for special measures in the criminal, civil and family courts, such as being able to provide evidence via video link. Offenders are also now prevented from cross-examining their victims in person during family and civil court proceedings.

Domestic Abuse Act 2021

Protection from domestic abuse

Under the Family Law Act 1996, the court offers protection to the victims of domestic violence where the abuser was associated with them, such as a partner, parent or other family member, and has various powers.

Non-molestation orders can be granted to prevent violence, threats of violence or harassing, and pestering and molesting behaviour. An occupation order can be used to exclude someone from the family home or prevent them from coming within a specified distance of it.

The police can make an arrest if they suspect these orders have been breached. The person breaching the order can also be found guilty of contempt of court, which could result in a prison sentence.

Additionally, victims of domestic abuse can receive support from specialist services, such as Women’s Aid and the National Domestic Abuse Helpline.

For more support from Nelsons’ expert domestic violence solicitors, please visit www.nelsonslaw.co.uk/domestic-violence.

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