Domestic Violence is often imagined as a single incident of physical assault, but that picture is too narrow. In real life, Domestic Violence can include fear, intimidation, humiliation, economic restriction, isolation and coercive control, all of which can shape a victim’s daily existence for months or years. In England and Wales, the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 reflects this wider reality by recognising not only physical and sexual abuse, but also controlling or coercive behaviour, economic abuse and psychological or emotional abuse (HM Government, 2021).
That broader understanding matters because many victims are harmed not only by what happens in one frightening moment, but by a pattern that steadily reduces their freedom. A person may be told who they can see, what they can wear, how they spend money, or whether they are allowed to work. As Stark and Hester (2019) explain, coercive control has become central to understanding abuse because it shows how violence can operate as a system of domination rather than as isolated outbursts. This article explores what Domestic Violence really means, how it affects adults and children, and why a more informed response is essential.
1.0 What Domestic Violence Really Means
The phrase Domestic Violence is still widely used in public discussion, but many professionals now prefer domestic abuse because it better captures non-physical forms of harm. Legally, abusive behaviour may include violent or threatening conduct, sexual abuse, controlling or coercive behaviour, economic abuse, and psychological or emotional abuse (HM Government, 2021).
This means a victim does not need visible injuries for abuse to be serious. For example, a partner who repeatedly checks a person’s phone, isolates them from relatives, controls their wages and punishes minor acts of independence may be committing abuse even if there is little or no physical assault. The cumulative effect can be devastating.
Researchers have argued that Domestic Violence should be understood as a pattern of power. Walby and Towers (2018) note that focusing only on discrete incidents can hide the wider structure of abuse. In practice, that means asking not only, “What happened today?” but also, “What has been happening over time, and who holds the power in this relationship?”
2.0 The Hidden Forms of Domestic Violence
2.1 Coercive Control
One of the most important developments in the study of Domestic Violence is the recognition of coercive control. This refers to repeated behaviour designed to dominate another person and restrict their autonomy. It may include monitoring movements, limiting access to money, preventing contact with friends, threatening to reveal private information, or creating rules that the victim must follow.
Stark (2016) and Robinson and Myhill (2021) show that coercive control is not a minor addition to the concept of abuse; it is often the organising principle behind it. A victim may appear outwardly calm or compliant, but only because resistance carries consequences. A simple example would be a partner who insists on seeing bank statements, tracks location through a phone app and becomes threatening when questioned. Each act may look small in isolation, but together they create a climate of fear.
2.2 Economic and Emotional Abuse
Domestic Violence can also take the form of economic abuse. A perpetrator may stop a partner from working, take their wages, build debt in their name or deny them access to basic resources. Emotional abuse can include repeated put-downs, gaslighting, threats, blame and humiliation. These forms of abuse often leave no visible mark, yet they can erode self-belief and make escape harder.
Barlow and Walklate (2022) argue that recognising economic and emotional abuse is vital because these tactics often keep victims trapped. A person with no access to money, transport or secure housing may understand that the relationship is harmful yet still feel unable to leave.
2.3 The Impact of Domestic Violence on Adults
The effects of Domestic Violence are often wide-ranging. According to the World Health Organization, intimate partner violence is linked to injuries, depression, anxiety, sleep problems, unwanted pregnancies, substance misuse and long-term physical health difficulties (WHO, 2024). The social cost is also serious: isolation, disrupted employment, reduced income and difficulty caring for children.
The mental impact can be especially severe. Victims may become hypervigilant, constantly assessing mood changes and risks. They may struggle to trust their own judgement after repeated manipulation. They may also appear inconsistent when describing events, not because they are unreliable, but because trauma and fear affect memory and communication. Bishop and Bettinson (2018) stress that evidencing abuse requires sensitivity to these realities.
A practical example can help. Imagine a woman whose partner controls the household money, criticises her every day, threatens to take the children and occasionally smashes objects in the home. She may begin missing work because she is exhausted, anxious or prevented from attending. Over time, her world shrinks. That is Domestic Violence, even if outsiders see only fragments of it.
3.0 The Impact of Domestic Violence on Children
Children do not need to be directly assaulted to be harmed by Domestic Violence. Living in a coercive or violent home can affect their emotional security, schooling, behaviour and long-term wellbeing. The WHO notes that children exposed to violence in the home may experience behavioural and emotional difficulties and may be at greater risk of later victimisation or perpetration (WHO, 2024).
Callaghan et al. (2018) go further by showing that children do not merely “witness” abuse; they often experience it through fear, monitoring, disruption and emotional pressure. A child may become quiet and withdrawn, struggle to concentrate at school, or feel responsible for protecting a parent. In homes shaped by coercive control, children may also be used as part of the abuse, for example through threats, manipulation of contact or forced loyalty.
This is why Domestic Violence must be treated as a family and safeguarding issue, not only as an adult relationship problem.
4.0 Why Leaving Domestic Violence is Often Difficult
A common question asked about Domestic Violence is why victims do not simply leave. That question often overlooks the realities of fear, dependency and risk. Leaving may be the most dangerous point in an abusive relationship, especially where the perpetrator senses a loss of control. Victims may fear retaliation, homelessness, child contact disputes, debt or disbelief.
Myhill and Hohl (2019) describe coercive control as the “golden thread” in risk assessment because it helps explain why apparently small incidents may exist within a much larger pattern of entrapment. If police, courts or friends look only at a single argument, they may underestimate the danger.
Practitioner misunderstandings remain a challenge. Robinson, Myhill and Wire (2018) found that professionals do not always identify coercive control accurately, which can weaken responses and leave victims unsupported. That is one reason many survivors say the hardest part was not always recognising the abuse, but being believed when they finally spoke about it.
5.0 How Society Can Respond to Domestic Violence
An effective response to Domestic Violence needs more than emergency action after a crisis. It requires early recognition, trained professionals, joined-up services and informed public understanding.
First, frontline agencies need better recognition of coercive control. Brennan et al. (2021) found that force-wide police training improved arrests for coercive control offences, suggesting that training can strengthen real-world responses. Secondly, evidence gathering should reflect patterns rather than isolated incidents. Bishop and Bettinson (2018) argue that digital messages, financial records, medical notes and witness accounts may all help show the broader picture.
Thirdly, support services matter enormously. Victims often need legal advice, housing support, financial help, trauma-informed healthcare and specialist advocacy, not just a one-off police response. Barrow-Grint et al. (2022) emphasise that risk, policy and practice must be connected if responses are to be effective.
Finally, prevention matters. The WHO highlights the importance of relationship education, social support, gender equality and multi-agency strategies that reduce the conditions in which abuse thrives (WHO, 2024). In other words, Domestic Violence is not only a private matter; it is a public health, justice and social issue.
Domestic Violence is far more than physical harm behind closed doors. It can involve coercive control, emotional degradation, financial restriction and fear that steadily strip away a person’s independence. Its effects reach far beyond the immediate victim, often shaping the lives of children, workplaces, health services and communities.
A more accurate understanding of Domestic Violence helps explain why victims may stay, why children are deeply affected, and why visible injury is only one part of the picture. When systems recognise patterns of power rather than isolated incidents, responses become fairer and more effective. That is the direction good policy, policing and support must continue to take.
References
Barlow, C. and Walklate, S. (2022) Coercive Control. Abingdon: Routledge. Available at: https://api.taylorfrancis.com/content/books/mono/download?identifierName=doi&identifierValue=10.4324/9781003019114&type=googlepdf.
Barrow-Grint, K., Sebire, J., Turton, J. and Weir, R. (2022) Policing Domestic Abuse: Risk, Policy, and Practice. Abingdon: Routledge. Available at: https://api.taylorfrancis.com/content/books/mono/download?identifierName=doi&identifierValue=10.4324/9781003137412&type=googlepdf.
Bishop, C. and Bettinson, V. (2018) ‘Evidencing domestic violence, including behaviour that falls under the new offence of “controlling or coercive behaviour”’, International Journal of Evidence & Proof. Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Vanessa-Bettinson/publication/319600378_Evidencing_domestic_violence_including_behaviour_that_falls_under_the_new_offence_of_’controlling_or_coercive_behaviour’/links/5b3df0d20f7e9b0df5f42dd7/Evidencing-domestic-violence-including-behaviour-that-falls-under-the-new-offence-of-controlling-or-coercive-behaviour.pdf.
Brennan, I., Myhill, A., Tagliaferri, G. and Tapley, J. (2021) ‘Policing a new domestic abuse crime: Effects of force-wide training on arrests for coercive control’, Policing and Society. Available at: https://researchportal.port.ac.uk/files/25868195/Policing_a_new_domestic_abuse_crime_Effects_of_force_wide_training_on_arrests_for_coercive_control_POST_PRINT.pdf.
Burman, M. and Brooks-Hay, O. (2018) ‘Aligning policy and law? The creation of a domestic abuse offence incorporating coercive control’, Criminology & Criminal Justice. Available at: https://eprints.gla.ac.uk/154030/13/154030.pdf.
Callaghan, J.E.M., Alexander, J.H., Sixsmith, J. and Fellin, L.C. (2018) ‘Beyond “witnessing”: Children’s experiences of coercive control in domestic violence and abuse’, Journal of Interpersonal Violence. Available at: https://dspace.stir.ac.uk/bitstream/1893/26502/1/Coercive%20control%20Callaghan20158007.pdf.
HM Government (2021) Domestic Abuse Act 2021, section 1. Available at: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2021/17/section/1.
Myhill, A. (2018) The Police Response to Domestic Violence: Risk, Discretion, and the Context of Coercive Control. Available at: https://openaccess.city.ac.uk/id/eprint/19905/1/Myhill%2C%20Andy_Redacted.pdf.
Myhill, A. and Hohl, K. (2019) ‘The “golden thread”: Coercive control and risk assessment for domestic violence’, Journal of Interpersonal Violence. Available at: https://openaccess.city.ac.uk/id/eprint/15642/3/JIPV%20as%20accepted.pdf.
Robinson, A.L., Myhill, A. and Wire, J. (2018) ‘Practitioner (mis) understandings of coercive control in England and Wales’, Criminology & Criminal Justice. Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Amanda-Robinson-12/publication/322697694_Practitioner_mis_understandings_of_coercive_control_in_England_and_Wales/links/643e52122eca706c8b6846bd/Practitioner-mis-understandings-of-coercive-control-in-England-and-Wales.pdf.
Robinson, A. and Myhill, A. (2021) ‘Coercive control’, in The Routledge International Handbook of Domestic Violence and Abuse. Abingdon: Routledge. Available at: https://ebrary.net/176782/health/coercive_control.
Stark, E. (2016) ‘Policing partner abuse and the new crime of coercive control in the United Kingdom’, Family and Intimate Partner Violence Quarterly. Available at: https://www.civicresearchinstitute.com/online/PDF/524159305Policing%20Partner%20Abuse%20and%20the%20New%20Crime%20of%20Coercive%20Control%20in%20the%20United%20Kingdom.pdf.
Stark, E. and Hester, M. (2019) ‘Coercive control: Update and review’, Violence Against Women. Available at: https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/files/208237229/Full_text_PDF_accepted_author_manuscript_.pdf.
Walby, S. and Towers, J. (2018) ‘Untangling the concept of coercive control: Theorizing domestic violent crime’, Criminology & Criminal Justice. Available at: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1748895817743541.
World Health Organization (2024) Violence against women. Available at: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/violence-against-women.
