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The majority of defendants prosecuted, in the year ending March 2022 for controlling or coercive behaviour were male (98%, where the sex was known). Police officers should also be mindful that the perpetrator may also be aware that police may rely on such evidence and therefore may make it impossible for the victim to keep such records.
footnote 41] Controlling or coercive behaviour offences were more likely to be assigned an outcome of evidential difficulties (victim does not support action). CPS guidance states that even where there is not enough evidence to charge a specific case, prosecutors should ask police officers to advise the victim to take steps to gather records to support any future investigation. Making and enforcing rules and regulations that the victim is expected to follow and using punishments to make them comply e.
Furthermore, controlling or coercive behaviour can have a cumulative impact on the victim, and in many cases, they may only be able to come to terms with the impact of the abuse or understand that it has occurred at a later stage.
It is important to remember that Section 3 of the 2021 Act recognises children as victims of domestic abuse in their own right if they see, hear, or experience the effects of the abuse, and are related to either the victim or perpetrator.Bosch Thermotechnology Ltd T/A Worcester Bosch Group (FRN 918503) is an Appointed Representative of Consumer Credit Compliance Limited who are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN 631736). The controlling or coercive behaviour offence previously only captured behaviour between current intimate partners, whether or not they lived together, and ex-partners or family members who live together.
