Last reviewed: September 2026
“Domestic abuse” is a context, not one single criminal charge
Domestic abuse is defined in legislation and can include physical, emotional, economic and other abusive behaviour between people who are personally connected. Criminal proceedings, however, still depend on specific offences. An investigation may concern common assault, ABH, controlling or coercive behaviour, stalking, harassment, criminal damage, communications offences or another allegation.
The defence should separate each alleged offence into its legal ingredients. A relationship label does not remove the prosecution’s burden of proof, and it should not replace analysis of what happened, when, how the allegation is proved and what evidence supports or contradicts it.
Controlling or coercive behaviour
Section 76 of the Serious Crime Act 2015 creates the offence of controlling or coercive behaviour in an intimate or family relationship. The law was expanded so that qualifying former partners and family members do not have to be living together for the offence to apply. The prosecution must address repeated or continuous behaviour, the parties’ personal connection, the required serious effect and the defendant’s knowledge or what they ought to have known.
These cases can cover a long period and numerous alleged behaviours: finances, social contact, work, communication, monitoring, threats, humiliation, access to property or technology. A broad allegation needs a precise chronology. The defence should identify which acts are actually relied upon and what evidence proves each one.
Relationship evidence must be put in context
Messages about money, childcare, housework, social plans or relationship problems can appear controlling when isolated from the surrounding exchange. Equally, genuinely abusive conduct can be hidden within ordinary communication. The defence task is not to minimise the seriousness of domestic abuse; it is to ensure the court sees reliable evidence in context.
Full conversation histories, bank records, calendars, work records and independent witnesses may assist. The relevant question is what the evidence proves, not which party can produce the most hostile character description of the other.
Assault allegations
Domestic-context assault cases are governed by the same legal principles as other assault cases, though the relationship context may affect evidence, risk assessment, bail and prosecution decisions. The defence should examine first accounts, injury evidence, body-worn video, photographs, 999 calls, messages and any CCTV.
Where self-defence is alleged, the sequence and perceived threat must be established. Where the allegation is denied entirely, the defence should identify objective evidence capable of testing the competing accounts.
Stalking and harassment after separation
Following a relationship breakdown, allegations may arise from repeated calls, messages, attendance at a property or workplace, social-media activity or contact concerning children and belongings. Stalking and harassment offences have their own legal framework. The chronology should distinguish unwanted conduct from legitimate or mutual communication and identify any point at which the nature of contact changed.
If bail conditions or a restraining order prohibit contact, those restrictions must be obeyed regardless of whether the complainant initiates communication. The correct approach is to seek legal advice about variation, not to assume that reciprocal contact cancels the condition.
Children and contact arrangements
Criminal bail conditions can affect child contact, but criminal proceedings are not a substitute for family-law arrangements. A condition may permit contact through a named intermediary or prohibit direct contact with the complainant. The exact wording matters.
A client should avoid using children as a means of indirect communication where that could breach a condition or order. Where practical child arrangements are genuinely necessary, formal variation or a properly structured intermediary arrangement may be required.
Police interview
Domestic investigations can involve multiple allegations over months or years. Police disclosure before interview may be a summary rather than the full evidential material. The solicitor should identify the alleged period, principal incidents, communications and any other offences being considered before advising on interview strategy.
If the client has relevant messages, recordings or documents, they should be preserved. Deleting material can create serious evidential and practical problems. Relevant defence evidence should be reviewed with the solicitor rather than sent selectively or impulsively.
Recordings
Audio recordings, doorbell footage and phone videos sometimes feature in relationship cases. A recording may assist one party or may be ambiguous without context. The complete original file, date, metadata where available, circumstances of recording and surrounding events should be considered.
A short extract can give a very different impression from a longer conversation. Where recording evidence exists, preserving the original is important.
Witnesses
Family, friends, neighbours or colleagues may have relevant direct evidence. Their usefulness depends on what they personally saw or heard. A witness who was present during an argument or saw the parties immediately afterwards may be different from a witness who can only repeat what one person later told them.
Witnesses should not be coached or given a narrative to adopt. A proper statement records their own recollection, including facts that may not assist the client.
Bail conditions
Non-contact, exclusion and residence conditions are common. They can affect home, work and family life for months. Conditions should be reviewed for necessity and proportionality, but until changed they must be followed.
Where the police seek to extend pre-charge bail, representations may be appropriate depending on the length of the investigation, outstanding enquiries, necessity for conditions and prejudice caused. The status of device downloads or other lines of enquiry can be relevant.
Evidence preservation
The most important defence material is often lost because nobody acts early. CCTV is overwritten. Messages disappear with a device change. Doorbell subscriptions expire. Work rotas are deleted. If objective evidence may be relevant, identify and preserve it promptly.
A preservation request can be particularly important where evidence is controlled by a business, platform, landlord, employer or police force rather than the defendant.
Pre-charge representations
Domestic cases may be suitable for pre-charge representations where defence evidence materially changes the factual or legal picture. That can include a clear chronology, communications, independent witnesses, recordings, medical evidence, location evidence or a legal submission about the alleged offence.
The submission should remain disciplined. It is rarely useful to attach every hostile message exchanged during a relationship. The focus should be the evidence that directly affects the charging decision.
Restraining orders and protective proceedings
Restraining orders can be made in criminal proceedings in circumstances provided by law, including after conviction and in certain cases following acquittal. Their terms can regulate contact, locations and conduct. A proposed order should be considered carefully because breach is a criminal offence.
Other protective orders may arise outside the criminal case. If there are parallel family, stalking-protection or civil proceedings, the factual position should be coordinated so statements in one forum do not inadvertently undermine another.
What happens if the complainant no longer supports the prosecution?
A complainant asking to withdraw support does not automatically end a prosecution. Police and prosecutors may consider other evidence and whether the case can or should continue. The defence should not contact, pressure or encourage a complainant to withdraw. Any communication must comply with bail conditions and other orders.
Court proceedings
If charged, the case may proceed in the Magistrates’ Court or Crown Court depending on the allegation. The defence will need to identify the exact incidents relied on, what is admitted or disputed and how the prosecution proposes to prove the case. Long relationship histories should be organised into a clear timeline so the court can distinguish relevant evidence from background noise.
Legal Aid and private representation
Theodorous holds a Legal Aid Agency criminal contract. Public funding may be available depending on the stage and applicable eligibility rules. We also undertake privately funded domestic-allegation work, including detailed investigation-stage preparation, bail representations, witness statements and pre-charge submissions.
Frequently asked questions
My ex-partner has contacted me despite my bail condition. Can I reply?
Do not assume so. A bail condition binds the person subject to it. Follow its wording and obtain advice about variation if necessary.
Does a domestic allegation automatically mean I will be charged?
No. Charging depends on the evidence, applicable legal tests and prosecution decision. Domestic context can affect risk and public-interest assessment but does not remove the evidential requirement.
Can the police use old allegations that were never charged?
Earlier allegations can become relevant depending on the offence and evidential rules. Their admissibility and significance are fact-specific and should be analysed rather than assumed.
Should I collect character references now?
Character material can have a role, but objective evidence about the alleged events usually comes first. References should be used where they have a clear legal or sentencing purpose.