Counteracting Domestic Violence: New Experience from the UK

Abstract

The author studies the experience of England and Wales on counteracting domestic violence. The article analyzes how the attitude of the society and the state to this phenomenon has changed, and, instead of being viewed as a commonplace event, it is now recognized as a serious gender violence crime and violation of human rights. Such recognition is based on the position of the UNO expressed in the Istanbul Convention of 2011; joining this Convention made it necessary for the British government to develop a new statute. This Act includes the legislative definition of domestic abuse (this term is an extension of the concept of «domestic violence» introduced at the government level), the introduction of the extraterritorial jurisdiction, more clearly defined methods of victim protection, a provision for a Domestic Abuse Commissioner, etc. The article outlines the path of the UK to the new legislative vision, starting with the development of inter-agency programs and pilot projects of victim assistance and ending with the adoption of legislative acts that criminalize different forms of domestic violence, including forced marriage, «honor» crimes and female genital mutilation. Special attention is paid to a new gender neutral crime - controlling behavior, whose introduction is viewed as unprecedented and controversial. Unlawful control is viewed as actions aimed at suppressing another person, their isolation from people close to them, and depriving them of means necessary for independence, resistance or escape. Coercion, in its turn, is an action or a model of behavior (attack, threat, humiliation, etc.) aimed at inflicting harm, at punishing or terrifying a victim. The author believes that studying British experience of developing inter-agency programs of victim support, including a program that provides information of the criminal past of an intimate partner, and the consistent criminalization of all forms of domestic abuse (even those not connected with physical violence) presents certain interest for Russian lawyers and researchers, and deserves their close attention.