Revision notes on domestic violence in relation to Family Law.
Includes statistics, definitions, key statutes/cases, explanations of non-molestation orders/occupation orders and the procedure for cases of domestic violence in criminal law.
Also includes an extensive evaluation on the law regardin...
Domestic Violence
Statistics
• ONS – women are more likely to be killed by their partner or ex-partner (44%
of female victims compared to 6% of male victims)
• Globally, 95% of homicide perpetrators are male and 1 in 2 women victims of
homicide are killed by their intimate partners or a family member
• Femicide Census – study between 2009 – 2015 (based on 936 femicides):
- Most women who are killed are killed by a man known to them – 76% of
women killed by their ex-partner or ex-spouse were killed within their first
year that followed their separation
- 598 women in total killed by their current or former partner
- 75 women killed by their sons
- 45 women killed by male relatives other than partners
Definitions
• Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 – ‘domestic
violence means any incident, or pattern of incidents, of controlling, coercive or
threatening behaviour, violence or abuse (whether psychological, physical,
sexual financial or emotional) between individuals who are associated with
each other’
• DV is a term used to describe violence between adults in a close relationship
• Yemshaw v London Borough of Hounslow [2011] – Mrs Yemshaw sought
housing from her local authority. As she could live in the marital home, she
could only claim to be homelss if she was the victim of domestic violence. She
accepted that her husband had not been physically violent to her but claimed
she was terrified of him and that he had been emotionally abuse towards her.
The council took the view that domestic violence was restricted to cases of
physical abuse. The House of Lords said that DV should be given a broad
interpretation and is not restricted to cases of physical abuse. It could include
making someone fearful of violence or giving rise to a risk of violence. It could
include denigration of the victim’s personality, or depriving them of their liberty
• Government proposed new definition – ‘Any incidents or pattern of controlling,
coercive or threatening behaviour, violence or abuse between those aged 16
or over who are or have been intimate partners or family members regardless
of gender or sexuality. This can encompass but is not limited to:
psychological, physical, sexual, financial, emotional’
• This definition recognises that DV is best understood as a pattern of
behaviour, rather than a single incident. Also, that DV is about controlling the
other person and this can be done through a range of behaviours
• DV most frequently occurs against women. Studies have shown that most
violence by women against men is in self-defence or an isolated incident.
, Causes of DV
• Psychopathological – stemming from the psychological make-up of the
abuser. Could be caused by the abuser having an underdeveloped
personality, including an inability to control anger or deal with conflict. Link
between alcohol and substance abuse
• Position of women in society – focus on patriarchy and the domination of
women by men. Herring found that violence often occurs when women do not
fulfil their traditional roles and men use violent means to reassert their
authority
• Family relationship – the failure of family relationships leads to DV due to poor
communication skills or volatile partnerships – this suggests that it is the fault
of both the abuser and the victim
*Two kinds of order under the Family Law Act 1996: the non-molestation order
and the occupation order
Non-Molestation Order
• Molestation includes acts that harass or threaten the victim. It must be
conduct that is not simply an invasion of privacy
• An applicant can only seek a non-molestation order against a person with
whom he or she is associated. Associated people are listed in s62 of the
Family Law Act 1996:
- They are or have been married to each other or entered a civil partnership
together
- They are cohabitants or former cohabitants
- They live in the same household
- They are relatives
- They have agreed to marry one another or enter a civil partnership
- They have or have had an intimate personal relationship with each other
for a significant duration
- Where the applicant is a child, a person who has PR for the child
- They are parties to the same family proceedings
• G v F (Non-Molestation order: Jurisdiction) [2000] – if it is unclear whether the
relationship between two people falls within one of these definitions, it should
be treated as if it does
Non-Molestation Order – Grounds
• Family Law Act s42(5) – In deciding whether or not to make a non-molestation
order, the court shall have regard to all circumstances including the need to
secure the health, safety and well-being –
(a) Of the applicant and
(b) Of any relevant child
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