Discussion Topic:

Carl and Gail have been married for eight (8) years. They jointly own a three-bedroomed house worth 450,000. They have one child, Julia aged seven (7).

Gail gave up her successful job as a successful accountant to look after Julia. Carl works as a successful lawyer and earns 250,000 a year. The couple also own a cottage that Gail inherited from her mother before she and Carl met but she rents this cottage out to pay for Julia's school fees.

In the last two (2) years Carl and Gail's relationship has changed in that Carl decides everything for Gail; from what sheis allowed towear to what she can do and to whom she can talk. Gail loves Carl and wants to please him. She tries very hard, but Carl always finds fault and punishes her. He is often violent to Gail, pushing her down the stairs, hitting her, and on one occasion he broke her arm: she never reported it to anyone, as she was very embarrassed.

In recent weeks Carl has become even angrier and has taken his frustration out on Julia ona number ofoccasions, shaking her violently. Gail cannot afford to move out as Carl controls the spending of the household income and she wants to stay with Julia in the house. Gail has had enough and wants to divorce Carl in the long term and wants him out of the house, so that she and Julia can live in peace.

To taunt her one night, Carl comes home drunk and starts banging on the bedroom door. When Gail threatens him with the police, he shouts that he will come back later and 'finish them all off.' Gail is now extremely frightened. She wants the violence to stop immediately and then to divorce Carl, but she is worried that the court will award himall ofthe marital property and as she has no job,she is worried that her and Julia will be left destitute.

In the light of the above consider the following for discussion:

1. Advise Gail on how family law can assist her in the short term with regards to Carl's violence and threats against her and their daughter, Julia.

2. If Gail chooses to divorce Carlon the basis oftheir marriage having irretrievably broken down due to his unreasonable behaviour, how might the court redistribute the marital property?

Response post:

What is Domestic Abuse?

Firstly, it is important to understand that domestic violence has a broad definition. Yemshaw v London Borough of Hounslow considered whether domestic violence must involve physical abuse towards a victim. The court held that domestic violence is much broader than just physical abuse and could involve emotional abuse, making someone fearful of physical violence or coercing them, and depriving them of their liberty.[1]

The Domestic Abuse Act 2021 defines domestic violence as abusive behaviour from one person to another where both people are aged sixteen or over and are personally connected.[2] The Act provides that abusive behaviour includes physical or sexual abuse, violent or threatening behaviour, coercive control, economic abuse or psychological and emotional abuse.[3] Section 2 of the 2021 Act defines connected individuals as spouses, civil partners, or those who have agreed to marry or form a civil partnership, those who have intimate relationships, relatives or parents and their offspring.[4]

The Home Office definition of 2012 encapsulates the statutory and pervious common law definitions, stating that domestic violence is 'any incident or pattern of incidents of controlling, coercive, threatening behaviour, violence or abuse between those aged 16 or over who are or have been intimate partners or family members regardless of gender or sexuality.'[5]

It is often assumed that domestic abuse can only exist between a husband and their wife; however, both the courts and more recently Parliament, have considered it to be a much broader issue. As Corr writes, there is broad gender symmetry in terms of victims of domestic abuse, with children and young teenagers also becoming victims of domestic abuse or witnessing it in their homes.[6]

Do you agree that, in the present case, as Gail is Carl's spouse, and Julia his daughter, they satisfy the definition to become victims of domestic abuse?

[1] Yemshaw v London Borough of Hounslow [2011] UKSC 3

[2] Domestic Abuse Act 2021, 1(2)

[3] Domestic Abuse Act 2021, 1(3)

[4] Domestic Abuse Act 2021, s2(1)

[5] Home Office Circular 003/2013: new government domestic abuse and violence definition (14 February 2013) accessed 7 April 2024

[6] Mary-Louise Corr, 'Young teenagers' experiences of domestic abuse' (2014) 17 JYS 510

Respond to the above response post using OSCOLA referencing for the primary and secondary sources.