Domestic violence and abuse in the United Kingdom are a range of abusive behaviours that occur within relationships. Domestic violence or abuse can be physical, psychological, sexual, financial or emotional. In UK laws and legislation, the term "domestic abuse" is commonly used to encompass various forms of domestic violence. Some specific forms of domestic violence and abuse are criminal offences. Victims or those at risk of domestic abuse can also be provided with remedies and protection via civil law.

This is consistent with the Istanbul Convention, whose member countries must provide protection orders to victims of domestic abuse to ratify this treaty.

Statutory definition The Domestic Abuse Act 2021 creates a statutory definition of domestic abuse, but there are no offences related to this definition. Rather pre-existing offences make certain forms of domestic abuse illegal.

This definition states that behaviour is abusive if it involves "physical or sexual abuse; violent or threatening behaviour; controlling or coercive behaviour; economic abuse; or, psychological, emotional or other abuse." In order for such behaviour to be classed as domestic abuse, it must occur between two people who are over the age of 16 and "personally connected" to each other.

Relationships which constitute as "personally connected" are if the two parties are, or have been: married or civil partners to each other; engaged; in an intimate person relationship with each other; in a parental relationship with the same child; relatives.

Helplines There are helplines available for women experiencing domestic abuse such as The National Domestic Abuse Helpline. The National Domestic Abuse Helpline (telephone number 0808-2000-247) from Refuge gives support, help and information about domestic violence. This helpline is confidential, free and available 24 hours per day.

The ManKind Initiative provides a hotline for men experiencing domestic abuse. The hotline Galop provides services for those LGBT relationships who experience abuse.

Domestic abuse shelters

There are charities that provide temporary accommodation sometimes with associated therapeutic services for those escaping domestic abuse.

It was reported in December 2017 that women fleeing domestic violence may be subject to a postcode lottery over whether refuge accommodation is available for them or not.Funding change could see domestic violence refuges shut BBC 19 December 2017 The Guardian reported in 2018 that "thousands" of women fleeing domestic violence were put into unsuitable housing, such as housing where a toilet leaks and housing overrun with mice, creating a risk that some women will return to the abuser. The newspaper reported that 12% of vulnerable women fleeing domestic abuse were forced to sleep rough before contacting a shelter.Thousands fleeing domestic violence face squalid housing The Guardian Male victims of domestic violence also face challenges when seeking refuge as there are only 19 shelters in the UK offering refuge to men – 78 places in total (of which just 20 places are available for the exclusive use of men).

Civil remedies

The Domestic Abuse Act 2021 has created a single domestic abuse protection order to unify, though not necessarily replace, the current civil law protection orders such as non-molestation orders. Although this Act has passed, currently the new domestic abuse protection orders that have been created have not come into force.

Criminalization There are no laws specifically against domestic abuse, but a number of other laws make certain specific forms of domestic abuse illegal such as those involving homicide, assault, harassment, or sexual abuse.

Legal aid Legal aid is provided for parents who want a court to prevent another parent seeing their child or obtain a divorce through the Family Courts if they have experienced certain forms of domestic abuse. A number of pre-existing crimes are considered domestic abuse.

+ Criminal Offences within England relating to domestic abuse for legal aid Statutory Legislation Domestic abuse act Offences against the Person Act 1861, s.16 Threats to kill Offences against the Person Act 1861, s.18+20 Wounding and causing grievous bodily harm Offences against the Person Act 1861, s.23+24 Administering poison Offences against the Person Act 1861, s.47 Common assault Theft Act 1968, s.21 Blackmail Criminal Damage Act 1971, s.1 Destroying or damaging property Criminal Damage Act 1971, s.2 Threats to destroy or damage property Child Abduction Act 1984, s.1+2 Abduction of a child by parent or other persons Criminal Justice Act 1988, s.39 Common assault and battery Protection from Harassment Act 1997, s.2 Harassment Protection from Harassment Act 1997, s.2A+4A Stalking Sexual Offences Act 2003, s.1 Rape Sexual Offences Act 2003, s.2 Assault by penetration Sexual Offences Act 2003, s.3 Sexual assault Sexual Offences Act 2003, s.62+63 Committing an offence with intent to commit a sexual offence Serious Crime Act 2015, s.76 Controlling or coercive behaviour in an intimate or family relationship Anti-social Behaviour Crime and Policing Act 2014, s.121 Offence of forced marriage Modern Slavery Act 2015, ss.1, 2+4 Slavery or compulsory labour, or human trafficking Domestic Violence, Crime & Victims Act 2004, s.1 Breach of non-molestation order Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003, s.5A Breach of a Female Genital Mutilation protection order Family Law Act 1996, s.42A Breaching non-molestation order Family Law Act 1996, s.63A Breach of forced marriage protection order Public Order Act 1986, s.4 Fear or provocation of violence Public Order Act 1986, s.4A + 5 Harassment, alarm or distress

+ Civil orders in England relating to domestic abuse Statutory legislation Description Family Law Act 1996, s.42 Non-Molestation Order Family Law Act 1996, s.33, 35-38 Occupation Order Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004, s.12 Restraining Order Crime and Security Act 2010, s.24-33 Domestic Violence Protection Orders and Notices

Perpetrators

Some men have repeatedly killed female partners. In the case of Theodore Johnson, convicted of murder in January 2018 and eventually jailed for a minimum of 30 years, The original minimum tariff was for 26 years. he was found guilty of manslaughter on two previous occasions because of his mental health.

History

The history of domestic abuse examines the shift from domestic abuse being socially acceptable to unacceptable and how the law has evolved with that social evolution.

In 1510, Anthony Fitzherbert, a judge, published a manual for legal procedure called The New Natura Brevium. This manual described the writ of supplicavit which was available to wives whose husbands threatened to beat or kill them and allowed the court to punish a husband in these situations. However, the writ had an exception for threats required for the lawful "sake of Government and Chastisement" of a wife. The extent of this exception is unclear. This right to beat was challenged but affirmed in Thomas Seymore Case with Edward Coke issuing a dissenting opinion denying any right of a husband to beat his wife.

The Lord Leigh case of 1674, ruled that wife beating had not been intended as permissible in the New Natura Brevium but only allowed for admonition and confinement to the house. Wife-beating was increasingly frowned upon in the 17th century which Doggett argued in part stemmed from the Protestant conception of Marriage. Puritans conceptualised marriage as analogous to the relationship between Christ and the Church, viewing the husband as dominant but imposing standards. The clergy and moralists advised husbands against wife-beating. However, many legal writers ignored the Leigh ruling stating that wife beating was a husband's right.

In 1782, the rule of thumb was satirised as an 'ancient doctrine' when Judge Francis Buller was reported as trying to review the principle, with Buller being depicted as 'Judge Thumb'.

During the Victorian period, some voices were heard to highlight and criticise violence against women.Sharpe, James A Fiery and Furious People, A History of Violence in England (2016) Penguin Random House UKISBN 9781847945136 at 444-445 These included influential contributions from novelists and from reviewers such as John William KayeKaye, John William Outrages on Women North British Review vol. 25 May 1856 pages 233–56 and Frances Power Cobbe.Wife Torture in England Contemporary Review 32 (1878) pages 55-87

The issue of domestic abuse achieved national prominence in 1971, following marches as part of the Reclaim the Night movement, the world's first refuge for domestic violence victims opened. The refuge was established by Erin Pizzey at Belmont Terrace in Chiswick, London. It has since been rebranded as the charity Refuge (United Kingdom charity). Pizzey's pioneering work was widely praised. In 1973 Jack Ashley stated in the House of Commons that "The work of Mrs. Pizzey was pioneering work of the first order. It was she who first identified the problem, who first recognised the seriousness of the situation and who first did something practical by establishing the Chiswick aid centre. As a result of that magnificent pioneering work, the whole nation has now come to appreciate the significance of the problem". Ashley was the first to use the term 'domestic violence' in its modern sense – meaning violence in the home.National Women's Aid Federation .House of Commons Sitting (1973) Battered Women. The term previously referred primarily to civil unrest, violence from within a country as opposed to violence perpetrated by a foreign power. The public pressure that surmounted from these protests for women's rights caused the UK to produce its first piece of legislation tackling domestic violence: the Domestic Violence and Matrimonial Proceedings Act 1976 which created civil protection orders for victims.

Statistics

In 2024, across the UK and Ireland, the rate of reported domestic violence was; England/Wales, 1 in 70 Office of National Statistics website, Domestic abuse in England and Wales overview: November 2024 Scotland, 1 in 86 Scottish Government website, Domestic abuse: statistics recorded by the police in Scotland, 2023 to 2024, article dated 19 November 2024 Northern Ireland, 1 in 65 Police Service of Northern Ireland website, Domestic Abuse Incidents and Crimes Recorded by the Police in Northern Ireland, Update to 31st December 2024 BBC website, Domestic abuse: Small increase in incidents reported last year, article dated 29 February 2024 Republic of Ireland, 1 in 78 Ireland Extra website, Domestic Abuse up by 20,000 cases in just the last four years, article by Sarah McGuinness dated 24 February 2025 Irish Times website, Domestic abuse reports grew by 9% in 2024, Garda figures find, article dated 20 December 2024

Northern Ireland has some of the highest rates of femicide and domestic violence within Europe, a fact that has caused gender-based violence in Northern Ireland to be called an "epidemic".

England and Wales +Estimated domestic abuse cases in England and WalesYearFemaleMale20221.7M (6.9%)699k (3.0%)202120201.6M (7.3%)757k (3.6%)20191.6M (7.5%)786k (3.8%)20181.3M695k20171.2M713k Between one in three and one in four women will likely report to having been affected by domestic abuse during their lifetime. Between one in six and one in seven men will report to having been affected by domestic abuse during their lifetime. In cases of alleged domestic abuse in England and Wales, 84.3% of accusations are for non-physical abuse, 12.9% of accusations are for sexual abuse, and 20% of accusations are for stalking. Most persons alleging domestic abuse are women. Most persons accused of domestic abuse are men. 50% of domestic violence between heterosexual partners is reciprocal or bi-directional: meaning that both the man and the woman are violent.