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Cases of domestic abuse recorded by police and children's services have risen significantly over the past decade. The government has published a draft bill containing new protections to tackle the problem

Joint commissioning is the most effective way to deliver support for children affected by domestic abuse, says Toni Badnall-Neill

Kirsten Anderson, research and policy manager at Coram Children's Legal Centre, asks if criminalising coercive and controlling behaviour will provide better protection to victims of domestic violence

A number of philosophers and feminist authors have recently equated domestic abuse with the ubiquitous and ill‐defined concept of "terrorism." Claudia Card, for instance, argues that domestic abuse is a frequently ignored form of terrorism that creates and maintains "heterosexual male dominance and female dependence and service" (Card 2003). Alison Jaggar, in a recent article, also concludes that an acceptable definition of terrorism will find rape and domestic violence to be terrorist acts (Jaggar 2005). Yet there seem to be several obstacles to any simple appropriation of the term "terrorism" for cases of domestic abuse. In this paper I will address what I take to be three significant problems that might be raised with regard to any attempt to identify domestic abuse as an act of terrorism. These problems include the fact that a) definitions of terrorism usually require clear political motivations, b) definitions of terrorism normally require that the terrorist intend to create a climate of terror, and c) adopting the term terrorism for cases of domestic abuse might appear simply inappropriate or unhelpful. I will argue, however, that each of these possible objections can be answered effectively and that domestic abuse rightly falls under the rubric of terrorism.

Domestic Abuse and Human Rights presents an overview of the relevance of the European Convention on Human Rights to domestic abuse. It will have three aims: first, to consider the relevant case law and application of the key articles to questions around domestic abuse; second, to consider at a theoretical level the balancing between protection and autonomy at the heart of the legal response to domestic abuse; third, to propose practical application of a human rights approach to issues around domestic abuse, with particular emphasis placed on the significance of the Istanbul Convention on Preventing and Combatting Violence against Women. The relevance of the key Articles of the European Convention on Human Rights will be explained. The book will include material on the definition of domestic abuse, elder abuse, parental abuse, and the impact of abuse on children. It seeks to bring out the themes which connect these issues as well as the ways in which they raise distinct questions. The book argues that a human rights approach requires states to take a pro-active stance towards domestic abuse. It should no longer be regarded as a private matter, but as a human rights approach mandating state intervention, although within limits. So understood, the European Convention on Human Rights provides a powerful impetus for states to ensure an effective response to the major problem of domestic abuse.

Introduction -- Scale of the problem -- Young people's attitudes towards domestic abuse -- Preventative education -- Social marketing as domestic abuse prevention -- Young men's accounts of victimisation -- The impact of exposure to domestic violence on boys -- Young men's accounts of domestic abuse perpetration -- Under responsiveness to young men involved in domestic violence -- Conclusion.

The latest in a series about emerging safeguarding practice looks at how an NSPCC programme supports mothers and their children who have been victims of domestic abuse to move on together

Cruelty to pets is often a means of control utilised by perpetrators of domestic abuse. Not only does the act itself cause suffering to the victim, but the threat of future harm can also prevent a victim from leaving their abusive home. Currently, there is no legislation in England and Wales that provides protection for the companion animals of those experiencing domestic abuse. The Domestic Abuse Act 2021 provided an opportunity to make the much overdue change to the lack of protection afforded to companion animals of victims of domestic abuse, however, it failed to do so. Without this protection, victims of domestic violence will continue be less likely to leave their violent homes out of concern for the safety of their companion animals. The lack of resources and protection for victims with pets makes the threats of the abuser to harm the pets all the more effective, locking victims and their companion animals in a cycle of abuse.

Intro -- Preface -- Acknowledgements -- Contents -- About the Authors -- Contents -- Contents -- Chapter 1: Introduction -- 1.1 Targeting Domestic Abuse -- References -- Chapter 2: Domestic Abuse in England and Wales -- 2.1 How Domestic Abuse Is Defined -- 2.2 Characteristics and Terms Used -- 2.3 The Main Problems Facing Responders -- 2.4 Police Responses to Domestic Abuse -- 2.4.1 Initial Response: Mandatory Police Attendance -- 2.4.2 Arrest Policy -- 2.4.3 Alternatives to Prosecution -- 2.4.3.1 Civil Orders -- 2.4.3.2 Cautions -- 2.4.3.3 Restorative Justice -- 2.4.4 Risk Assessment -- 2.4.5 Advocates -- 2.4.6 Multi-agency Meetings -- 2.4.7 Perpetrator Management -- 2.5 A Summary -- References -- Chapter 3: Key Questions That Police Data Might Help Us Answer -- 3.1 About Police Data -- 3.2 Victim Surveys -- 3.3 Police Records -- 3.4 What Problems to Measure? -- 3.5 Summary -- References -- Chapter 4: The Existing Evidence -- 4.1 Introduction -- 4.2 Evidence on Repeat Domestic Abuse -- 4.3 Evidence on Escalation -- 4.4 Evidence on the Concentration of Harm -- 4.5 Evidence on Serial Domestic Abuse -- 4.5.1 Typologies of Domestic Batterers -- 4.5.2 Serial Perpetrators -- 4.5.3 Prevalence of Serial Perpetrators of Domestic Abuse -- 4.6 Evidence on Forecasting Domestic Abuse -- 4.6.1 Actuarial Instruments in Criminal Justice Forecasts -- 4.6.2 Machine Learning Techniques -- 4.6.3 Previous Use of Random Forests for Criminal Justice Forecasting -- 4.6.4 Criticisms and Problems -- 4.7 A Summary of the Evidence -- References -- Chapter 5: Measuring Harm -- 5.1 What Is Harm and How Is It Measured? -- 5.1.1 Review of Harm Measurement Tools -- 5.1.1.1 Public Perception-Based Tools -- 5.1.1.2 Economic Harm-Based Tools -- 5.1.1.3 Sentence-Based Tools -- 5.1.1.4 Theoretical-Framework Tools -- 5.1.2 Assessing Which Tool to Use.