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Protecting children from domestic abuse

The statutory definition of domestic abuse

Section 1 of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 introduced a new statutory definition of domestic abuse for England and Wales, which states:

Behaviour of a person (“A”) towards another person (“B”) is “domestic abuse” if—

(a) A and B are each aged 16 or over and are personally connected to each other, and

(b) the behaviour is abusive.

Under section 3 of the act, children under 18 are recognised as victims of domestic abuse if they see or hear, or experience the effects of, abusive behaviour falling within the above definition and they are related to person A or B (for example, if a child witnesses domestic abuse perpetrated by one parent against the other).

When the definition was introduced, the government said its aim was “to ensure that domestic abuse is properly understood, considered unacceptable and actively challenged across statutory agencies and in public attitudes”. For example, the definition is used by the police and the Crown Prosecution Service to identify which cases to ‘flag’ as domestic abuse cases.

The Home Office has issued statutory guidance to support relevant organisations (such as the police and local authorities) in responding to domestic abuse. Paragraphs 128 to 145 of the guidance cover the impact of domestic abuse on children.

Recent developments

This debate pack outlines the legal framework, policy developments, recent reports, and government reforms related to children affected by domestic abuse, inlcuding:

• Calls to change the statutory definition so that it applies to children under 16 who directly experience domestic abuse, for example in the form of teenage relationship abuse
• Recent legislation to place ‘Operation Encompass’, an information-sharing programme between the police and schools/colleges, on a statutory footing
• Reforms to children’s social care, including the national rollout of family help and multi-agency child protection teams through the Families First Partnership programme
• Government plans to legislate to repeal the presumption of parental involvement, when parliamentary time allows