A consultation has been launched that could change the law on domestic violence by giving emotional and psychological abuse the same legal status as physical abuse.
Home Secretary, Theresa May, has launched a consultation which could create a new offence of domestic abuse, which would help to protect those whose partners or spouses threaten them with violence or abuse them in other ways, such as cutting them off from family.
While exact terms of the offence are yet to be defined, the new law would make some cases of non-violent “controlling behaviour” a jailable offence.
Mrs May told The Telegraph that domestic abuse was “not just about violence”. “Within every community there are people living in fear of those closest to them.
“The terrifying reality is that for the most part these appalling crimes happen behind closed doors. We must bring domestic abuse out into the open and send a clear message that it is wrong to put your partner or your family in fear.”
The new domestic abuse offence will also apply equally to men being targeted by female partners. According to the Home Office, 16 per cent of men reported that they were victims of domestic abuse during their lifetimes. This is compared with 30 per cent of women.