First published on Restored's website www.restoredrelationships.org

Today Home Secretary, Theresa May, launches a consultation on plans for a new law on domestic abuse to include a pattern of coercive control and psychological abuse. This would enable the new definition of domestic abuse brought in last year to have a legal framework to enforce it. At the moment police often respond to an incident of abuse and not always or automatically take into consideration a pattern of abuse. There is laws on coercive and controlling behaviour but it doesn't explicitly apply to personal relationships. The consultation aims to make personal relationships included in the law so that it is clear.

Definition of abuse

Last year the UK government changed the definition of domestic abuse to 'any incident or pattern of incidents of controlling, coercive, 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. The abuse can encompass, but is not limited to:

• psychological
• physical
• sexual
• financial
• emotional

Controlling behaviour is defined as a range of acts designed to make a person subordinate and/or dependent by isolating them from sources of support, exploiting their resources and capacities for personal gain, depriving them of the means needed for independence, resistance and escape and regulating their everyday behaviour.

Coercive behaviour is defined an act or a pattern of acts of assault, threats, humiliation and intimidation or other abuse that is used to harm, punish, or frighten their victim. Crucially though these are not legal definitions which the new law aims to address.

Ending ambiguity

BBC news reported today that Theresa May said "The government is clear that abuse is not just physical. Victims who are subjected to a living hell by their partners must have the confidence to come forward. I want perpetrators to be in no doubt that their cruel and controlling behaviour is criminal.

"We will look at the results of this consultation carefully in order to continue providing the best possible protection and support for victims of domestic abuse."

"Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said: "We've called for the law on domestic violence to be strengthened for some time and have pledged new legislation in the first Queen's speech of a Labour government." (see news report here)

Spiritual abuse

At Restored we hear stories of women who have been abused by their Christian husbands and partners who have used scripture and the Bible as a tool of abusive power and control over them. At the heart of domestic abuse is the abuse of power and control and with spiritual abuse we see manipulation, coercion and wrongly applied scripture to justify abuse or to force a woman to do something she would not freely choose to do. We need to be wise and see that the heart of the gospel is love and freedom which is the opposite of abuse of power and control. See our free church pack here for helpful and unhelpful theology around abuse. Church Pack

Reported crimes of domestic abuse in England and Wales

According to figures from HMIC the number of reported crimes of Domestic Abuse from Sept 2012 to Sept 2013 were as follows:

• 1 million calls to the police
• 8% of all crimes
• 269,700 domestic abuse related crimes
• 57,900 cases involving high risk of serious harm or murder offences
• 96,000 cases of assault with injury

Up to April 2014 the Crown Prosecution Service achieved a record number of convictions, 58,000, of domestic abuse cases.

It is important to remember that two women a week in the UK are killed by their male partner.

Consultation document

We welcome the consultation on the new law and hope that it fills the current gap that exists. We want all women to feel safe, secure and live in healthy, loving, relationships where choice and freedom to flourish into all that God created us to be is the norm.

The full consultation document can be found on the UK Government website here