Ministers plan to make non-fatal strangulation a specific criminal offence punishable by five years’ imprisonment after coming under pressure from campaigners.
Also covering suffocation, the Government said on Monday it would introduce the legislation as an amendment to the Domestic Abuse Bill being debated in Parliament.
It will seek to address concerns that perpetrators can avoid punishment because the strangulation can at times leave no visible injury, making it hard to prosecute under existing laws.
Legislation will also be strengthened around controlling or coercive behaviour to no longer make it a requirement for abusers and victims to cohabit.
Laws to target so-called “revenge porn” will also be expanded to include threats to disclose intimate images with the intention to cause distress.
Domestic abuse commissioner Nicola Jacobs, who was among those pressing for the strangulation amendment, said the new provisions “will better support victims and will save lives” but called for ministers to go further.
“These changes are a huge win for domestic abuse victims, charities and campaigners, and I am delighted that the Government has listened and acted,” she said.
“Nevertheless, the Government must still go further to make this Bill genuinely ‘landmark’, by increasing the provision of services in the community and ensuring protections are extended to all victims and survivors, regardless of their immigration status.”
The Bill, largely applying only to England and Wales, is currently going through the House of Lords, where a series of amendments have been tabled.
The Government previously signalled it would not make non-fatal strangulation or suffocation a specific offence until future legislation.
But peers led by former victims’ commissioner Baroness Newlove argued it should be included in the current Bill to ensure it reaches the statute book sooner.
Now ministers will aim to make it an offence carrying up to five years in jail to intentionally strangle another person or do any other act that affects their ability to breathe.
Concerns centre on the challenges to prosecute non-fatal strangulation under existing offences such as Actual Body Harm because injuries may not be visible.
Meanwhile, Chancellor Rishi Sunak is expected to announce a £19 million package to tackle domestic abuse during his Budget on Wednesday.
Disclosing private sexual photographs and films with intent to cause distress became an offence in 2015, but those who even threaten to share such material could face two years in prison under the plans.
Refuge has been lobbying for the change in a campaign supported by former Love Island contestant Zara McDermott, herself a victim of revenge porn.
Ms McDermott said she is “thrilled” about the amendment, adding: “My life when I left the Love Island villa was turned upside down as a result of the sharing of intimate images.”
Justice Secretary Robert Buckland said: “This bill provides a once-in-a-generation opportunity to strengthen our response to domestic abuse and its many forms.”
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