Coercive Control Solicitors
McArthur Solicitors are experienced coercive control defence solicitors, working with you at every stage of your case to ensure you have a fair trial and the strongest possible defence.
What Is Coercive Control?
Coercive control is a criminal offence under Section 76 of the Serious Crime Act 2015. The law applies where a person repeatedly or continuously behaves in a way that is controlling or coercive towards someone they are personally connected to – such as a partner, former partner, or family member – and that behaviour has a serious effect on them.
Coercive control is also recognised as a form of domestic abuse under the Domestic Abuse Act 2021. It covers a sustained pattern of controlling, threatening, or coercive behaviour rather than a single incident, and it does not require any physical violence to have taken place.
Importantly, coercive control does not end when a relationship does. The offence can apply to behaviour that continues after a couple has separated, and it can also occur between family members living together.
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Examples Of Coercive Control
Coercive behaviour can come in many forms. This includes:
- Isolating their partner, former partner, or family member from friends and family.
- Monitoring them with spyware or online communication tools.
- Controlling where they go, what they can wear, when they can sleep etc.
- Depriving them of access to support systems or services, such as medical services or domestic violence support.
- Controlling their finances, such as when or where they can work, controlling their spending, or forcing them into coerced debt.
- Withholding vital documents such as passports, birth certificates, or visas.
This is not a comprehensive list of what counts as coercive control. Police and prosecutors will consider a broad range of behavior when gathering evidence, and examine text messages, phone records, and emails to assess whether coercion has been used in a relationship.
Coercive Control Sentencing
Coercive control is a serious criminal offence under the Serious Crime Act 2015, and a conviction can have life-changing consequences. The maximum penalty is five years imprisonment, an unlimited fine, or both – though the sentence imposed in any individual case will depend on a range of factors assessed by the court.
When determining the appropriate sentence, the court will consider the nature and duration of the controlling or coercive behaviour, the harm caused to the victim, and the level of culpability of the person found guilty. Harm is assessed broadly and includes psychological distress, emotional abuse, the impact on the victim’s daily life, their mental health, and whether the behaviour caused them to fear violence on at least two occasions or to suffer serious alarm or distress.
Sentences are categorised into three levels of seriousness. The most serious cases – Category 1 – typically involve prolonged abuse, the use of threats or intimidation, significant psychological or physical harm, and behaviour that has left the victim with little control over their own life. Category 2 cases sit in the middle range, where harm and culpability are present but to a lesser degree. Category 3 cases involve lower culpability and more limited harm, though a conviction will still result in a criminal record with serious consequences for employment, family life, and travel.
A number of aggravating factors can lead to a harsher sentence. These include involving children in the abusive behaviour, using threats of physical violence or physical abuse, exploiting financial abuse to maintain control, isolating the victim from support services or medical services, and any previous convictions for domestic abuse or similar offending. Where a victim has been particularly vulnerable – due to age, mental health difficulties, or dependency – the court will treat this as a further aggravating factor.
Mitigating factors, such as genuine remorse, a previous good character, or evidence that the behaviour has ended and is unlikely to be repeated, may be taken into account and could reduce the severity of the sentence. Having experienced coercive control solicitors who understand how sentencing guidelines are applied can make a significant difference to the outcome of your case.
A conviction may also result in additional orders being imposed by the court, including a restraining order preventing contact with the victim or their family members, or requirements to attend a behaviour change programme.
Coercive Control Defences
There are several defences our expert solicitors can look at taking when it comes to defending against coercive control allegations:
Reasonable Belief
If the accused believed they were acting in the victim’s best interests, this could be a potential defence against coercive behaviour charges. This may include cases where the accused asks their partner not to contact someone who poses a genuine threat, managing household finances for practical reasons, or potentially emergency scenarios.
The coercive control defence solicitors at McArthur Solicitors will sit down with you to assess reasonable belief, and help to build a defence tailored to your needs.
Pattern of Behaviour
If incidents are isolated, this can help build a strong coercive control defence strategy. Coercive control is defined as being continuous and repeated, so if evidence is found that incidents were isolated, McArthur Solicitors can work with you to build a defence strategy.
Mutual Behaviour
If both parties engaged in similar conduct during their relationship, an argument can be made that coercive control is not applicable to the situation.
Coercive Control Defence With McArthur Solicitors
If you have been accused of coercive behaviour, the team at McArthur Solicitors is here to help.
We know the impact that being accused of coercive control can have on you, your personal relationships, and your professional life. Our solicitors have a proven track record of successfully defending clients accused of coercive and controlling behaviour, providing comprehensive representation at every stage of your case.
Schedule a confidential consultation today, or speak to us on 020 4587 4583.
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FAQs
A specialist criminal defence solicitor will protect your legal rights from the very start. They can attend police interviews with you, review and challenge the evidence, gather material to support your version of events, identify inconsistencies in the allegations, and represent you in court if necessary. Their role is to build the strongest possible defence and to minimise the impact on your life.
You should seek legal advice as soon as you become aware of an allegation, even before speaking to the police. Early advice can prevent you from making statements that could be misinterpreted and allows your solicitor to start preserving evidence and preparing your defence straight away.
Domestic violence is often associated with physical harm, whereas coercive control is about a sustained pattern of psychological, emotional, and controlling behaviour. There may be no physical violence at all, but the controlling behaviour can still have a serious and lasting effect on the victim. The two can also occur together.
No – coercive control is not a sexual offence, so it does not automatically place you on the Sex Offenders Register. However, a conviction will result in a criminal record and can have serious consequences for employment, family life, and travel.
The prosecution must show that you engaged in a pattern of behaviour that caused the complainant to fear violence on at least two occasions or suffer serious alarm or distress that had a substantial effect on their day-to-day life. Evidence may include witness statements, text messages, emails, social media records, financial documents, and other material that suggests repeated controlling or intimidating conduct.
Yes. While coercive control often focuses on non-physical behaviour such as intimidation, isolation, or monitoring, it can also involve physical violence. In many cases, physical abuse forms part of a wider pattern of controlling behaviour. Even without physical violence, coercive control is still a criminal offence in its own right.
Yes, financial abuse is one of the recognised forms of coercive control. This could include preventing a partner from accessing their own money, controlling all household spending without agreement, withholding funds for essentials, or placing someone in debt against their will. The key factor is whether the behaviour is part of a pattern designed to dominate or control the other person.
Yes. Coercive control does not need to involve physical violence or physical harm to result in a custodial sentence. The offence is centred on a pattern of controlling or coercive behaviour – which can be entirely psychological or emotional in nature – and the court will focus on the serious effect that behaviour had on the victim. If the harm caused is assessed as sufficiently serious, a prison sentence remains a real possibility even where no physical abuse took place.
A conviction for coercive and controlling behaviour can have significant implications for your relationship with your children. The family court takes domestic abuse cases seriously and will consider the welfare of any children when making decisions about living arrangements and contact.
Depending on the circumstances, a conviction could affect ongoing family law proceedings, influence decisions made by social services, and impact any existing or future orders relating to the family home. It is important to seek advice from a family law team as early as possible to understand how a criminal conviction may affect your position in any family court proceedings.
Yes. If you are found guilty of coercive control, it will result in a criminal record. Depending on the sentence imposed, this can affect your ability to work in certain professions, travel to some countries, and may be disclosed in enhanced background checks. The long-term consequences of a conviction make it essential to have specialist coercive control solicitors who can work to protect your legal rights and build the strongest possible defence from the outset.
