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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Politics
Hannah Al-Othman North of England correspondent

Survivors of coercive control are being criminalised in England, research finds

A woman's silhouette on a blue background
Centre for Women’s Justice has made 11 recommendations for reform, including the introduction of an effective defence for victims of coercive control who are pressured into offending. Photograph: Diego Fedele/AAP

Survivors of coercive control are being unfairly criminalised in England and punished by a justice system that should be protecting them, research has found.

A report from the Centre for Women’s Justice (CWJ) drew on the experiences of seven women who were criminalised because of their abusive partners. They include a police officer who was convicted of misconduct in public office and lost her job after her controlling ex-boyfriend, also a police officer, coerced her into giving him her password into the police computer system, and a woman who was prosecuted for theft and fraud after her abusive and controlling partner used her bank account and phone number to sell stolen caravans.

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