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Domestic Abuse Act 2021

Contents

Legal background

  1. The legislation relating to domestic abuse in England and Wales is set out in a number of statutes. Generally, such legislation is not bespoke to domestic abuse; instead the general criminal, civil and family law is applied to domestic abuse cases. For example, apart from the offence of controlling or coercive behaviour in an intimate or family relationship (section 76 of the Serious Crime Act 2015 ("the 2015 Act"), acts of domestic abuse are prosecuted under general provisions of the criminal law, such as those provided for in the Offences Against the Person Act 1861.
  2. This Act amends or repeals the following legislation:
    • Part 4 of the Housing Act 1985 which makes provision for secure tenancies and the rights of secure tenants;
    • Section 91 of the Children Act 1989 which makes provision for the effect and duration of orders made under that Act;
    • Section 11 of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 which provides extraterritorial jurisdiction for certain offences committed outside Scotland;
    • Part 7 of the Housing Act 1996 which makes provision for tackling homelessness in England;
    • Protection from Harassment Act 1997 which, amongst other things, includes the offences of putting people in fear of violence (section 4) and stalking involving fear of violence or serious alarm or distress (section 4A);
    • Chapter 1 of Part 2 of the YJCEA 1999 which provides for the application of special measures for vulnerable and intimidated witnesses in criminal proceedings in England and Wales;
    • Chapter 1 of Part 12 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 which makes general provisions about sentencing;
    • Section 72 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 which provides extraterritorial jurisdiction for the offences listed in Schedule 2 to that Act;
    • Section 28 of the Offender Management Act 2007 which provides for polygraph testing of certain sex offenders as a condition of their licence;
    • Sections 24 to 33 of the Crime and Security Act 2010 which provide for DVPNs and DVPOs;
    • Section 9 of the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004 Act which provides for the police, local and health authorities and probation providers to undertake Domestic Homicide Reviews;
    • Section 76 of the Serious Crime Act 2015 which provides for the offence of controlling or coercive behaviour in an intimate or familial relationship;
    • Section 33 of the Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015 which contains provisions on disclosing a private sexual photograph or film with intent to cause distress to an individual who appears in the photograph or film.

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