Victory for Centre for Women’s Justice who triggered the campaign to amend the Domestic Abuse Bill
Non-fatal strangulation or suffocation is to be a stand-alone offence within the Domestic Abuse Bill, following a campaign by CWJ alongside other organisations and the Victims and Domestic Abuse Commissioners.
Strangulation is very commonly reported by survivors of domestic abuse and is used to instil fear, power and control. It is a terrifying experience, with survivors frequently reporting that they truly believed they were going to die.[1] Research shows that those who suffer non-fatal strangulation are seven times more likely to be killed at a later date.[2] It is also a highly gendered crime, perpetrators are almost exclusively men and victims primarily women.
Strangulation has long been minimised by criminal justice agencies, particularly because there are often no or few physical marks. Sometimes it is not prosecuted at all, and when it is prosecuted it is often charged as common assault, the equivalent of a slap. The new offence will be a far more serious crime, an ‘either way’ offence, that can go to the Crown Court and has a maximum sentence of five years. There is no time limit for instituting charges, unlike common assault which cannot be prosecuted after six months.
The charity Safelives estimates that 20,000 women in the UK experience strangulation every year. This offence needs to be widely used to address this highly prevalent crime.
Non-fatal strangulation and suffocation cause lack of oxygen to the brain which can lead to a wide range of neurological and other long-term medical problems. These affects are not well known despite a large body of medical literature.[3]
Centre for Women’s Justice, a small legal charity, working with frontline women’s services, first formulated the amendment to the Domestic Abuse Bill, which drew support from across the sector and from all political parties.
Nogah Ofer, solicitor at Centre for Women’s Justice, who was at the forefront of the campaign, said:
“We welcome this offence, and call upon the police and CPS to use it effectively. The new law will shine a light on this horrific form of abuse and as a society we must not tolerate it any longer.
This new law is just the first step in addressing non-fatal strangulation. We need to educate police and prosecutors, medical professionals, domestic abuse workers and the wider public to recognise this form of abuse and the long-term physical and emotional harm it causes.”
[1] Rachel Williams and Jane Monkton-Smith https://sutda.org/wp-content/uploads/Non-fatal-strangulation-Survey-June-2020-.pdf
[2] Glass et al (2008) ‘Non-fatal strangulation is an important risk factor for homicide of women’
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2573025/
[3] Bichard et al (2020) https://psyarxiv.com/c6zbv/