‘Gold Standard' Legislation for Adults Only: Reconceptualising Children as ‘Adjoined Victims' Under the Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018

Abstract

In this article we argue that the Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018 should not be regarded as ‘gold standard’ in the way in which it seeks to recognise the harms caused to children who experience intimate partner coercive control in their living environment. We argue that children should be reconceptualised children as ‘adjoined victims’ of intimate partner domestic abuse and that the 2018 Act should be amended to include a parallel section 1 offence of ‘abusive behaviour towards partner or ex-partner and adjoined child’. By offering the first academic analysis of why and how the criminal law should seek to capture children’s experiences of coercive control, this article contributes to broader discussions about criminalising coercive control and the scope of such offences. It highlights key lessons that can be learnt from the Scottish story so far and sounds a note of caution against simply ‘rolling out’ the Scottish approach elsewhere.

Reforming the Landscape for Women who Kill their Abusers in Scotland

“…Internationally recognised as a good example of the criminalisation of coercive control (Cairns and Callander 2022), 2 the Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018 introduced the offence of "Abusive Behaviour Towards Partner or Ex Partner" (s. 1). A course of conduct offence, it covers both physical and psychological abuse and can be carried out either intentionally or recklessly.…”

Redefining domestic violence in France as a violation of human rights: coercive control

“…Coercive control inevitably extends to children, as does its severe traumatic impact (Katz, 2015;2022;Katz et al, 2020;Cairns and Callander, 2022). Children may indirectly experience rules and restrictions imposed on the protective parent (82% of women victims in France are mothers), or be weaponised by the abusive parent to harm the victim (Sadlier, 2015;Stark and Hester, 2019;Katz et al, 2020).…”