Domestic Abuse policy

4. Definition of Domestic Abuse

1. 4.1. Domestic abuse can begin at any stage of a relationship and may continue after the relationship has ended. Domestic abuse does not discriminate and can affect anyone regardless of their gender; ethnicity; religion; class; age; sexuality; disability or lifestyle. 
2. 4.2. Domestic abuse is a criminal offence and the Council encourage people to report it to the police, whether they are the victim of abuse or witness abuse. 
3. 4.3. The Statutory definition of domestic abuse as defined by the Domestic Abuse Act 2021:
   1. Behaviour of a person ("A") towards another person ("B") is domestic abuse if:
      1. (1) A and B are each aged 16 or over and are personally connected to each other, and
      2. (2) Behaviour is abusive, and it does not matter whether the behaviour consists of a single incident or a course of conduct.
      3. (3) Behaviour is "abusive" if it consists of any of the following:
         1. (a) physical or sexual abuse
         2. (b) violent or threatening behaviour
         3. (c) controlling or coercive behaviour
         4. (d) economic abuse (see subsection (4))
         5. (e) psychological, emotional, or other abuse
      4. (4) "Economic abuse" means any behaviour that has a substantial adverse effect on B's ability to:
         1. (a) acquire, use or maintain money or other property, or
         2. (b) obtain goods or services.
      5. (5) For the purposes of this Act, A's behaviour may be behaviour "towards' B's despite the fact that it consists of conduct directed at another person (for example, B's child).
4. 4.4.    What we mean by 'Personally Connected'
   1. (1) Two people are 'personally connected' to each other if any of the following applies: 
      1. (a) they are or have been married to each other     
      2. (b) they are or have been civil partners of each other
      3. (c) they have agreed to marry one another (whether or not the agreement has been terminated) 
      4. (d) they have entered into a civil partnership agreement (whether or not the agreement has been terminated) 
      5. (e) they are, or have been, in an intimate personal relationship with each other 
      6. (f) they each have, or there has been a time when they each have had, a parental relationship in relation to the same child (see subsection (2))
      7. (g) they are relatives.
   2. For the purposes of subsection (1) (f) a person has a parental relationship in relation to a child if: 
      1. (a) the person is a parent of the child, or 
      2. (b) the person has parental responsibility for the child.
   3. In this section:
      • 'child' means a person under the age of 18 years
      • 'civil partnership agreement' has the meaning given by section 73 of the Civil Partnership Act 2004
      • 'parental responsibility' has the same meaning as in the Children Act 1989
      • 'relative' has the meaning given by section 63 (1) of the Family Law Act 1996
5. 4.5. Children as Victims of Domestic Abuse
   1. (1) Any reference in the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 to a victim of domestic abuse includes a reference to a child who:
      1. (a) sees or hears, or experiences the effect of, the abuse, and
      2. (b) is related to A or B.
   2. (2) A child is related to a person for the purposes of subsection (2) if:
      1. (a) the person is a parent of, or has parental responsibility for, the child, or
      2. (b) the child and the person are relatives 
   3. (3) In this section: 
      • 'child' means person under the age of 18 years
      • 'parental responsibility' has the same meaning as in the Children Act 1989 (see   section 3 of that Act)
      • 'relative' has the meaning given by section 63 (1) of the Family Law Act 1996