ABSTRACT
Domestic abuse is the term used in the Family Law Protocol (FLP) (p 66) and encompasses many more types of unacceptable behaviour than the behaviour conjured up by the phrase ‘domestic violence’. Domestic abuse is described as ‘violence against a person by any other person with whom that person is, or has been, in a domestic relationship’. It encompasses a range of behaviours including, but not necessarily limited to, physical abuse, sexual abuse, psychological abuse such as harassment and intimidation, damage to property and threats of such types of abuse. Furthermore, it may be a single act or a series of acts that form a pattern of behaviour, which by themselves may seem trivial but, taken together, might be considered a campaign of abuse.
