The law defines domestic abuse as abusive behaviour by one person towards another, where both people are aged 16 or over. This age limit has come under scrutiny following the murder of 15-year-old Holly Newton by her ex-boyfriend. In a victim impact statement to court, Holly’s mother, Micala Trussler, described Holly’s murder as “a classic case of domestic abuse”, but said the law prevented her from calling it domestic abuse due to Holly’s age.
This Insight looks at the statutory definition of domestic abuse and how it applies to teenage relationships.
How does the law define domestic abuse?
Section 1 of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 introduced a new statutory definition of domestic abuse, which states:
Behaviour of a person (“A”) towards another person (“B”) is “domestic abuse” if—
(a) A and B are each aged 16 or over and are personally connected to each other, and
(b) the behaviour is abusive.
Under section 3 of the act, children are recognised as victims of domestic abuse if they see or hear, or experience the effects of, abusive behaviour falling within the above definition and they are related to person A or B (for example, if a child witnesses domestic abuse perpetrated by one parent against the other).
Abusive behaviour directly perpetrated or experienced by a person aged under 16 does not, therefore, fall within the statutory definition of domestic abuse.
The government said the aim of the definition was “to ensure that domestic abuse is properly understood, considered unacceptable and actively challenged across statutory agencies and in public attitudes”. For example, the definition is used by the police and the Crown Prosecution Service to identify which cases to ‘flag’ as domestic abuse cases.
Why are under 16s excluded from the definition?
The policy position is that teenage relationship abuse involving under 16s should be categorised as child abuse rather than domestic abuse, with a response that focuses on child protection. This is reflected in the statutory guidance on domestic abuse, which says that “Whilst young people under the age of 16 can experience abuse in a relationship, it would be considered child abuse as a matter of law”, and that “ultimately, in responding to cases of abuse involving those under 18, child safeguarding procedures should be followed”.
Child safeguarding procedures involve a multi-agency approach that is coordinated by police, health services and local authorities (in their role as statutory ‘safeguarding partners’) and informed by the statutory guidance set out in Working together to safeguard children. This guidance acknowledges that young people can experience domestic abuse within their own intimate relationships. However, it describes this as a “form of child-on-child abuse” that may not be recognised in law as domestic abuse if one or both parties are under 16.
What did the previous definition of domestic abuse say?
The current definition of domestic abuse in the 2021 act replaced a non-legislative definition that had been in place since 2004. The previous definition, which was developed by government ministers, was limited to abusive behaviour “between adults”.
However, in 2012, the government extended the non-legislative definition to cover teenagers aged 16 and 17. The Home Office said this would “increase awareness that young people in this age-group experience domestic violence and abuse” and would encourage more teenagers to access specialist support.
Consultation on the definition in 2011
The change to include teenagers aged 16 and 17 followed a Home Office consultation on whether the definition should apply to under 18s, with a majority of consultation respondents (85%) (PDF) supporting its extension to teenagers aged 16 and 17.
A smaller majority of respondents (53%) supported extending the definition to all under 18s. The Home Office said it recognised these views but would reassess whether under 16s should be included in the definition at a future date once it had reviewed the impact of the inclusion of 16-year-olds and 17-year-olds.
Consultation on domestic abuse in 2018
In 2018, as part of a wider public consultation on domestic abuse, the government asked whether its proposed new legal definition of domestic abuse should retain the age limit of 16.
In its consultation response paper (PDF), the government said that 59% of respondents “strongly agreed or agreed that the current lower age limit of 16 years should be maintained in the statutory definition”. Respondents’ arguments against a lower age limit included “the risk of blurring the lines between child abuse and domestic abuse between adults” and the need to avoid unnecessarily criminalising perpetrators aged under 16.
Discussion on draft Domestic Abuse Bill in 2019
In evidence to the Joint Committee on the Draft Domestic Abuse Bill, Victoria Atkins, then a Home Office minister, said the government had looked “very carefully at the issue of age” and had decided to keep it at 16. The committee itself agreed that “on balance” the age limit of 16 was “the right one”. The committee did, however, recommend that the government should conduct a review of relationship abuse between under 16s.
In its response to the committee (PDF), the government said it had concluded that a review was unnecessary as it was “satisfied that appropriate steps are already being taken through wider workstreams to address this particular issue”. It highlighted prevention and early intervention work in schools, police processes, and the approach of the youth justice system.
What will happen next?
Holly Newton’s mother and stepfather, Micala and Lee Trussler, are calling for the statutory definition to be extended to under 16s. They say this would properly categorise cases such as Holly’s as a form of violence against women and girls and would enable such cases to be subject to a domestic homicide review.
The Acorns Project, a charity that supports children and their families affected by domestic abuse, agrees that the definition should be reviewed and says that its exclusion of under 16s “may not be recognising the severity and the seriousness of the issue”.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, the Home Secretary, Yvette Cooper, described the issue as “extremely important” and said the government would “specifically look at this, because we need to make sure that we have got the right ways of recording this kind of violence in teenage relationships”.
Any change to the current definition in the 2021 act would require new legislation.
About the author: Sally Lipscombe is a researcher at the House of Commons Library, specialising in home affairs.
Photo by Matthew Michael via Unsplash