The Wales Safeguarding Procedures help practitioners apply the Social Services and Wellbeing (Wales) Act 2014 and statutory guidance, across agencies. [footnote 72] The National Training Framework places statutory requirements for training across public services and specialist third sector in relation to Violence Against Women, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence in Wales. Further information can be found here. Examples of where the perpetrator’s behaviour has a “serious effect” on the victim includes cases where the victim is subjected to repeated and/or physical violence, sexual assault, coercion, abuse, or threats of such acts. However, violence and/or threats of violence do not need to be present for controlling or coercive behaviour to take place. Examples of a serious effect on the victim may include, but are not limited to: Threats to report a victim to immigration enforcement and/or the police, or threaten to remove the victim to their country of origin; and Device logs (whilst ensuring limited disruption, if any, for the victim, ensuring appropriate redaction and not risking further harm);

Lifestyle and household including at scene photographic evidence – e.g. the things that they usually do, where they live, who they interact with, how they spend their money; Threats to expose/exposure of sensitive information (e.g. sexual activity, private sexual photos or films, [footnote 18] sexual orientation and/or transgender identity), or making false allegations to family members, friends, work colleagues, community or others, including via photos or the internet; It is vital that statements capture the “serious effect” on the victim, rather than simply a description of the behaviours present. Police officers can help in ensuring that the overall impact is reflected appropriately by asking the right questions early on. In some cases, if a victim is providing evidence in court which has not been captured in the initial statement, it can be detrimental to their case. Officers should consider the vulnerability of the victim and their ability to provide an accurate statement. Independent advocates and specialist services can support a victim throughout the criminal justice process (Please also refer to Section 5 – Multi-agency response for more information on supporting the victim).Following the victim and/or appearing unexpectedly, e.g. at their place of work or at places where they are meeting friends; Police officers should avoid dual arrests, especially if there are children present, but this is not always possible. Where counter-allegations are made at the scene, officers should evaluate each party’s complaint separately to determine whether there was a primary perpetrator. [footnote 33] Isolating the victim from family, friends, colleagues and professionals who may be trying to support them, intercepting messages or phone calls. This guidance extends to England and to reserved matters in Wales. Any persons or agencies using this guidance must also be familiar with the Domestic Abuse Statutory Guidance. This guidance, to be read alongside relevant legislation and strategies, should be referred to by Welsh agencies or devolved bodies discharging functions which are reserved to the UK Government (policing and criminal, civil and family justice matters). Subsections (8) to (10) of Section 76 of the Serious Crime Act 2015 provide for a defence where the defendant believes he or she was acting in the best interests of the victim, and that the behaviour was in all the circumstances reasonable.

The offence of controlling or coercive behaviour applies in England and Wales, but it should be noted that the Senedd (Welsh Parliament) has the legislative competence to legislate for Wales in this area. Devolved bodies and local organisations in Wales should therefore refer to the relevant Welsh legislation, in relation to devolved matters, such as the Violence Against Women, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence (Wales) Act 2015, the Violence Against Women, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence (VAWDASV) Strategy and associated guidance, which are referenced throughout this document. We would expect both devolved and non-devolved organisations to continue to work together to implement the Domestic Abuse Act 2021, where relevant.

Exploiting the communication support needs of the victim or manipulating the victim’s knowledge of what support is available and making professionals believe that the victim does not have capacity to report accurately, or that reports are not credible due to communication difficulties;

Breaking or adjusting devices or account settings to confuse, upset and intimidate the victim e.g. remotely adjusting the heating temperature through an internet-connected thermostat; The perpetrator must have known that their behaviour would have a serious effect on the victim, or the behaviour must have been such that he or she “ought to have known” it would have had that effect. Section 5 outlines the importance of a multi-agency response to cases of controlling or coercive behaviour and how support and other services can assist the victim and their family and manage the perpetrator.

Using children to control the victim, e.g. threatening to take the children away, threatening to harm the children; In Wales, statutory safeguarding responsibilities are set out in the guidance Working Together to Safeguard People, Volume 5: Handling individual cases to protect children at risk and Working Together to Safeguard People, Volume 6: Handling individual cases to protect adults at risk. When attending a callout for physical or any other type of assault, it is therefore important for police officers and frontline responders to look beyond what may be presented to them at the scene and consider whether there may be a pattern of controlling or coercive behaviour or other forms of abuse being perpetrated. Controlling or coercive behaviour can take place without the presence of any physical or sexual abuse. It is important to note that a “serious effect” on the victim may not be immediately obvious, for example, if the victim does not appear to be in emotional distress.