The Government has launched a consultation on domestic violence, seeking views on whether widening the cross-government definition of domestic violence would provide greater protection and support to victims.

The consultation seeks views on:

• whether the current cross-government definition of domestic violence, introduced in 2004, is working and should remain;
• whether ‘coercive control’ should be reflected in the definition; and
• whether the definition of domestic violence should include younger victims below 18 years of age.

The current government definition identifies domestic violence as ‘incidents’ of threatening behaviour, violence or abuse. However, it is widely recognised that domestic violence is often underpinned by a pattern of coercive control. There is a concern that without the inclusion of coercive control in the definition, it may be unclear to victims what counts as domestic violence, for example it may be thought to include physical violence only. Victims have often been subject to multiple incidents of abuse before they seek help.

The government also confirmed today it is allocating over £225,000 over the next two years to support male victims of domestic violence. The new ‘Male Victims Fund’ will help services providing support, preventative work and awareness raising activities for male victims of domestic and sexual violence.

Minister for Equalities and Criminal Information, Lynne Featherstone, said:

'There are some forms of violence, like domestic violence, where the majority of the victims are female and the majority of the perpetrators are male. However, we recognise that men can be victims of these crimes too and also deserve support and protection.'