Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018
| Jurisdiction | Scotland |
| Citation | 2018 asp 5 |
| Year | 2018 |
the person (“A”) engages in a course of behaviour which is abusive of A's partner or ex-partner (“B”) , andboth of the further conditions are met.that a reasonable person would consider the course of behaviour to be likely to cause B to suffer physical or psychological harm,A intends by the course of behaviour to cause B to suffer physical or psychological harm, orA is reckless as to whether the course of behaviour causes B to suffer physical or psychological harm.(3) In the further conditions, the references to psychological harm include fear, alarm and distress.(1) Subsections (2) to (4) elaborate on section 1(1) as to A's behaviour.behaviour directed at B that is violent, threatening or intimidating,has as its purpose (or among its purposes) one or more of the relevant effects set out in subsection (3) , orwould be considered by a reasonable person to be likely to have one or more of the relevant effects set out in subsection (3) .making B dependent on, or subordinate to, A,isolating B from friends, relatives or other sources of support,controlling, regulating or monitoring B's day-to-day activities,depriving B of, or restricting B's, freedom of action,frightening, humiliating, degrading or punishing B.in paragraph (a) , the reference to violent behaviour includes sexual violence as well as physical violence,in paragraph (b) , the reference to a child is to a person who is under 18 years of age.(1) An offence under section 1(1) can be constituted by a course of behaviour engaged in by A even if the course of behaviour occurs wholly or partly outside the United Kingdom.in a sheriff court district in which A is apprehended or in custody, orin a sheriff court district that is determined by the Lord Advocate,the offence is, for all things incidental to or consequential on trial and punishment, deemed to have been committed entirely in that district.is habitually resident in Scotland, oris a UK national.a British citizen,a British overseas territories citizen, a British National (Overseas) or a British Overseas citizen, ora British subject or a British protected person.(1) The commission of an offence under section 1(1) does not depend on the course of behaviour actually causing B to suffer harm of the sort mentioned in section 1(2) .(2) The operation of section 2(2) (b) does not depend on behaviour directed at someone actually having on B any of the relevant effects set out in section 2(3) .harm actually suffered by B as a result of the course of behaviour, oreffects actually had on B of behaviour directed at someone.specified in the complaint or libelled in the indictment that the offence is aggravated by reason of involving a child, andproved that the offence is so aggravated.A directs behaviour at a child, orA makes use of a child in directing behaviour at B.(3) The offence is so aggravated if a child sees or hears, or is present during, an incident of behaviour that A directs at B as part of the course of behaviour.(4) The offence is so aggravated if a reasonable person would consider the course of behaviour, or an incident of A's behaviour that forms part of the course of behaviour, to be likely to adversely affect a child usually residing with A or B (or both) .awareness of A's behaviour, orunderstanding of the nature of A's behaviour, orhas ever been adversely affected by A's behaviour.(6) Evidence from a single source is sufficient to prove that the offence is so aggravated.state on conviction that the offence is so aggravated,record the conviction in a way that shows that the offence is so aggravated,take the aggravation into account in determining the appropriate sentence, andwhere the sentence imposed in respect of the offence is different from that which the court would have imposed if the offence were not so aggravated, the extent of and the reasons for that difference, orotherwise, the reasons for there being no such difference.(8) Each of subsections (2) to (4) operates separately along with subsection (5) , but subsections (2) to (4) may be used in combination along with subsection (5) .a child's observations of, or feelings as to, A's behaviour, ora child's situation so far as arising because of A's behaviour.(10) In subsections (4) and (5) , the references to adversely affecting a child include causing the child to suffer fear, alarm or distress.is not A or B, andis under 18 years of age.
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