Cases of coercive control double as domestic abuse ‘stays at epidemic levels’
REPORTS of non-physical domestic abuse have doubled within a year, figures reveal, as campaigners warn that the true extent of the crime is only just starting to be recognised.
There were 17,616 offences of “coercive control” recorded by the police in the year ending in March, compared with 9,053 in the previous 12 months, the Office for National Statistics said.
Campaigners welcomed the increasing awareness of the crime but said domestic abuse was “at epidemic levels”.
Coercive control was officially criminalised in law and recognised as a form of domestic abuse just four years ago and came to public attention this summer after Sally Challen became the first person to successfully use it as a defence after the Crown Prosecution Service accepted her plea of manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility. She had been in prison for almost a decade. Ms Challen, 65, the mother of two adult sons, bludgeoned her abusive husband to death with a hammer in the kitchen of their Surrey home in August 2010 after decades of coercive control and humiliation.
Her son David, 31, who campaigned for his mother’s freedom, told The Daily Telegraph: “The increase is a step forward in domestic abuse. However, it’s vital to listen to victims who’ve come forward and recognise this form of abuse is as severe as physical violence.”
Coercive control is behaviour designed to isolate a victim, exploiting them, depriving them of independence and regulating their behaviour. It manifests itself in threats, humiliation and intimidation or abuse that is used to harm, punish, or frighten their victim.
The ONS said the increase in reports was “common for new offences” and the rise could be attributed to “improvements in recognising incidents”.
Police recorded 1,316,800 domestic abuse-related incidents and suspected crimes in England and Wales, up 118,706 from the previous year. Of these, 746,219 were subsequently recorded as crimes, up 24 per cent from 599,549 in the previous year.
But police made only 98,470 referrals to the Crown Prosecution Service for charging, down from 110,653 the previous year. There were also 366 domestic homicides recorded in England and Wales between 2016 and 2018, accounting for a fifth of all killings of people aged over 16.
Louisa Rolfe, a deputy chief constable who leads the National Police Chiefs’ Council in its work on domestic abuse, said the fall in charges was “concerning”. She said: “The increase comes alongside more complex and demanding investigations and pressure on police resources.”
Adina Claire, of Women’s Aid, said: “Domestic abuse remains at epidemic levels and despite this, police are making fewer referrals to the CPS – 84 per cent of victims killed by a current or former partner are female, which shows why specialist refuge services for women have to exist.”