Much more can be done to tackle psychologicalviolence through criminal law

Much more needs to be done to effectively tackle psychological violence through criminal law. This is the conclusion of University of Groningen researchers Anna Goldberg, Niels Hedlund, Martina Althoff, Kai Lindenberg and Michiel van der Wolf in their report ‘Psychological violence in criminal law’, which was published today.

The research was commissioned by the Scientific Research and Documentation Centre (WODC). The researchers argue that the criminal law approach to psychological violence is still difficult. Psychological violence is hard to prove and there is no clear definition of what it actually is.

Psychological violence also occurs outside the family circle

In criminal law, psychological violence is currently mainly recognised within families and often only when physical violence is also involved. However, psychological violence also occurs outside the family circle, such as in the workplace or in top-level sport.

Because physical violence is easier to see and prove, it often receives more attention, while the psychological aspect is often overlooked. According to the researchers, current criminal law is therefore insufficiently utilised to tackle this behaviour.

Why criminalization helps

The government wants to make psychological violence a separate criminal offence. According to researchers, there is broad support for this, with the exception of lawyers who represent suspects. The current situation is inadequate for effectively tackling psychological violence.

In addition, criminalization has important symbolic value and raises social awareness and attention for knowledge building within the criminal justice system. It also helps the Netherlands to better comply with international obligations on combating psychological violence.

Challenges

At the same time, the researchers also see a number of challenges for separate legislation, for example with regard to the scope of the law and its practical enforceability. The researchers recommend considering focusing the criminalization of psychological violence on coercive control.

In addition, they advocate a shift from incident-based working to a focus on context and patterns. Such a new approach does, however, require more expertise.

The full study is available from today on the WODC website:

If you have any questions about the study, please send an email to strcri rug.nl.

This article was published by the Faculty of Law.