Positive Impact of Criminal Law on Stalking

As family solicitors we deal with victims of domestic abuse in our day to day work. The remedies available in the family court to protect victims of domestic abuse fall under the civil rather than the criminal law. The most common family law injunctions are called non-molestation and occupation orders. A non-molestation order states that a perpetrator must not use or threaten violence, or intimidate, harass or pester the victim. An occupation order can exclude a perpetrator from the family home. Another family law injunction is a forced marriage protection order which can be used to prevent a person being forced into a marriage, usually abroad.

Criminal law is relevant to family law injunctions if they are breached. Breach of a non-molestation order is a criminal offence, punishable by imprisonment of up to 5 years.

When applying for a family law injunction the victim has to pay the legal costs if they instruct a solicitor. Means tested legal aid is available for injunctions for people who are financially eligible.

Quite often victims approach family solicitors for an injunction if the police have not taken action.

Fortunately, the police do take domestic abuse more seriously these days than they used to. This is evidenced by figures produced by the Crown Prosecution Service on 11^th September which show that prosecutions for stalking and harassment have increased by more than 20% in the past year.

Criminal laws introduced in November 2012 widened the definition of stalking and harassment to make it an offence to follow or a contact someone if this caused them “serious alarm or distress”. Prior to this, a victim had to demonstrate that they were in “fear of violence”.

Furthermore, the criminal courts have been more willing to impose restraining orders against perpetrators who are acquitted of harassment . A restraining order provides similar protection to non-molestation order.

Victims of domestic abuse quite often prefer to go down the family law injunction route as this gives them more control over the process. In the context of criminal law, the victim is a witness and has little control as the prosecution is brought by the CPS.

In an ideal world, victims of domestic abuse would not need the protection of family law injunctions but this is unlikely to happen, at least in the foreseeable future.