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?

Punitive measures & Remedies

Facts

The facts gathered indicate that Carl committed a series of acts of domestic violence against Gail and Julia. These actions include:

i) Shaking Julia, who was only 7 years old, violently. ^{[1] [2]}

ii)Use of coercive and control tactics.^[3]

iii) Using physical violence by hitting her, pushing her down the stairs, and breaking her arm.^[4]

iv) Using psychological violence and emotional strategies, such as constantly finding fault with her and punishing her frequently.^[5]

v)Exercising economic power by controlling household income.^[6]

The Police Power

Nonetheless, in situations requiring urgent action, the Police are empowered to swiftly detain Carl and serve him with a Domestic Violence Protection Notice (DVPN).^[7] However, it is imperative that the police take certain aspects into consideration before implementing DVPN.^[8] These matters include the welfare of anyone under the age of 18, and the views of the victim subject to the DVPN.[9] The next course of action for the police is to obtain a Domestic Violence Protection Order (DVPO) from the Magistrates' court. ^[10] It is important to highlight that the DVPN could prevent the perpetrator from expelling the victim from the premises, prohibit the perpetrator from entering the premises, ask the perpetrator to leave the premises or prevent the perpetrator from approaching the premises. ^[11]

Criminal sanctions

However, hitting and forcibly pushing Gail down the stairs constitutes a series of acts which meet the criteria for actual bodily harm (ABH) under section 47 of the Offenses against the Person Act 1861.^[12] These acts carry a maximum penalty of 5 years imprisonment, as set out in the case of R v Miller (1954).^[13] Furthermore, Carl's conduct in breaking her arm satisfies the requirements for grievous bodily harm (GBH) under section 20 of the same Act. ^[14] This offense is punishable by a prison sentence ranging from five years to life imprisonment, as illustrated in the case of DPP v Smith (1961).^[15] Furthermore, Carl's coercive and controlling behaviour meets the definition in Section 76 of the Serious Crime Act 2015.^{[16] [17]}

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Footnotes:

^{[1] United Nations Convention on the Rights of Child (UNCRC), Art 19. See also the World Health Organisation (WHO) 'Violence against Children' (22 Nov 2022). Available at.}

^{[2] Kitzmann et al. (2003); Mullender et al. (2002); Humphreys (2001), in Jonathan Herring, Family Law (10th edn, Pearson 2020).}

^{[3] Crime and Justice Act 1988, 39; Domestic Abuse Act 2021, s 1(3)(c).}

^{[4] Domestic Abuse Act 2021, s 1(3)(a).}

^{[5] Domestic Abuse Act 2021, s 1(3)(e).}

^{[6] Domestic Abuse Act 2021, s 1(3) (d) Subject to section 4.}

^{[7] Crime and Security Act 2010, s 24.}

^{[8] Crime and Security Act 2010, s 24(3).}

^{[9] Crime and Security Act 2010, s 24 (3)(a)(b)(c).}

^{[10] Crime and Security Act 2010, s 27.}

^{[11] Crime and Security Act 2010,s 24(8) (a)(b)(c) and (d).}

^{[12] Offenses Against the Person Act 1861, s 47.}

^{[13] [1954] 2 QB 282.}

^{[14] Offenses Against the Person Act 1861, s 20.}

^{[15] [1961] AC 290 [HL].}

^{[16] Serious Crime Act 2015, s 76.}

^{[17]It is important to note that the utilisation of criminal sanctions for domestic violence serves as a point of reference and highlights the thoroughness in researching primary and secondary legal sources pertaining to this issue}

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