Ireland has changed the original legal definition of domestic abuse and expanded it to include emotional and psychological abuse. According to The Hill “the act defines “coercive control” as a type of manipulation in intimidating relationships that strips away a person’s feeling of self-worth and agency” and has entered into force on January 1st 2019. The Minister for Justice and Equality Charlie Flanagan’s office issued a statement referred to by The Hill:
“This is psychological abuse in an intimate relationship that causes fear of violence, or serious alarm or distress that has a substantial adverse impact on a person’s day-to-day activities. The new offence of coercive control recognises that the effect of non-violent control in an intimate relationship can be as harmful to victims as physical abuse because it is an abuse of the unique trust associated with an intimate relationship. This new provision sends a message that society will no longer tolerate the appalling breach of trust committed by one partner against the other in an intimate context.”
Margaret Martin, the director of Women’s Aid, reacted to this in a statement for The Hill:
“This change will make a significant difference to the safety of younger women. We also welcome the move to prevent abusers to communicate electronically with their victims, a step in the right direction to address the digital abuse and online harassment of women by partners and exes.” She emphasized it is essential for law enforcement to start quickly applying the new laws in the new year.
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