A Comparative Evaluation of Offences: Criminalising Abusive Behaviour in England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland and Tasmania

Coercion, Control and Criminal Responsibility: Exploring Professional Responses to Offending and Suicidality in the Context of Domestically Abusive Relationships

“…Equally, other commentators have raised concerns about the potential challenges encountered at the prosecution stage, given that the model of repeated and continuous controlling or coercive behaviour envisaged within this legislation is often an unfamiliar one for those who argue, judge and decide these cases (Bettinson and Robson, 2020). Evidence in support of all these concerns was uncovered in the present study (see further, Bettinson et al, forthcoming). At the same time, though, it is important to bear in mind that report-to-charge ratios can often tell a partial story since attrition due to victim withdrawal is also a significant factor.…”

“…In other work, we have explored in detail our findings regarding the challenges and opportunities encountered in identifying and responding to the scale and complexity of harms associated with domestic abuse within these legislative frameworks, as well as in successfully evidencing and prosecuting coercive control offences in and across both jurisdictions (Bettinson et al, forthcoming). In this article, we focus attention on another key aim of the research which was to explore the potential precarity of the contextual understanding of coercive control that those legislative reforms purported to bolster.…”

‘Gold Standard' Legislation for Adults Only: Reconceptualising Children as ‘Adjoined Victims' Under the Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018

“…Although focussed on Scots law, much of our analysis is rooted in international research and will be helpful to other jurisdictions where conversations about the merits of criminalising coercive control, who any new offence should apply to, and how the experiences of children should be recognised, are still ongoing. Indeed, our analysis should send a strong note of caution to jurisdictions which may be considering replicating or ‘rolling out’ (Bettinson, 2020: 197) the current Scottish model.…”

‘How dare you call that playground banter?!’: Service provider perspectives on coercive control and young people

“…In a previous paper (Brennan et al, 2019) we outlined how the pending change in the law regarding coercive control was a priority issue for service providers; this article examines a separate yet linked issue for participants with reference to young people and coercive control. Over recent years, understandings of domestic violence and abuse have been subject to definitional change and legislative updates in several countries as research and knowledge evolve in the context of broadening recognition of coercive control (Bettinson, 2020). While progressive in many respects, this has created tensions, challenges and gaps for service providers and service users in England and Wales (Barlow et al, 2020; Brennan et al, 2019; Walby & Towers, 2018).…”