Coercive control put on par with other types of domestic abuse

Coercive control is to be put on a par with other forms of domestic abuse in England and Wales, with police and other enforcement agencies working together to tackle it.

- Eleni Courea

Offenders sentenced from today to at least 12 months for controlling or coercive behaviour will be automatically managed under multi-agency public protection arrangements (Mappa). This means the police, the probation service and other agencies will be legally required to share with one another information about offenders that suggests they are a risk to their former partners or the public.

The provision was part of the Victims and Prisoners Act, which was passed under the previous government last May. The statutory instrument to implement the change was signed into law by James Timpson, the prisons minister, this year.

Coercive control is a pattern of behaviour intended to make the victim feel isolated and dependent on their abuser, and includes threats, intimidation, humiliation and assault. Charities say it is at the heart of domestic abuse.