Coercive Control: Transforming Partial Defences to Murder in England and Wales
| Published date | 01 April 2023 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/00220183231165821 |
| Author | Amanda Clough |
| Date | 01 April 2023 |
Coercive Control: Transforming
Partial Defences to Murder in
England and Wales
Amanda Clough
Northumbria School of Law, Northumbria University, UK
Abstract
An abused person who kills their abuser remains a conundrum for law and justice. How do we
adequately deal with this issue using the current defences to murder? The Coroners and
Justice Act 2009 legislated with such situations in mind, but the focus here was on physical
abuse. As our understanding of the effects of coercive and controlling behaviour has grown,
how fatal reactions to such behaviour might be dealt with by the courts has become an
issue of particular interest. This article considers how the current parameters of the criminal
law and our increased understanding of intimate partner violence are in conflict, and further
legislation will most certainly be necessary to be inclusive of non-physical abuse.
Keywords
Coercive control, murder, manslaughter, loss of control, self defence
Introduction
Long has there been academic debate over how a jurisdiction might compassionately deal with a
person who kills their abuser. While theories based around battered women syndrome were predom-
inant in the nineties,
1
the problematic stereotyping this causes has led to uncertainty over the best
way to proceed.
2
Certainly, we understand intimate partner violence to be a liberty crime rather
than merely assault,
3
and a departure from typical approaches to the traditional understanding of
this and battered women who kill are welcomed. Particularly, an understanding that this encompasses
Corresponding author:
Amanda Clough, Northumbria School of Law, Northumbria University, Room 302, City Campus East 1, Newcastle upon Tyne,
NE1 8ST, UK.
Email: a.clough@northumbria.ac.uk
1. Originally stemming from the work of Lenore walker, see L Walker, Terrifying Love –Why Battered Women Kill and How
Society Responds (New York, HarperCollins 1994).
2. This article may refer to battered women as, while the authors recognise this is not exclusive to women as victims, it is the most
frequent and likely most problematic for the courts.
3. See E Stark, Coercive Control: How Men Entrap Women in Personal Life (New York, Oxford University Press 2007).
Article
The Journal of Criminal Law
2023, Vol. 87(2) 109–121
© The Author(s) 2023
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DOI: 10.1177/00220183231165821
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