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Offence of coercive control
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39. (1) A person commits an offence where he or she knowingly and persistently engages in behaviour that—
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(a) is controlling or coercive,
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(b) has a serious effect on a relevant person, and
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(c) a reasonable person would consider likely to have a serious effect on a relevant person.
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(2) For the purposes of subsection (1), a person’s behaviour has a serious effect on a relevant person if the behaviour causes the relevant person—
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(a) to fear that violence will be used against him or her, or
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(b) serious alarm or distress that has a substantial adverse impact on his or her usual day-to-day activities.
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(3) A person who commits an offence under subsection (1) is liable—
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(a) on summary conviction, to a class A fine or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months, or both, and
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(b) on conviction on indictment, to a fine or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years, or both.
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(4) In this section, a person is a “relevant person” in respect of another person if he or she—
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(a) is the spouse or civil partner of that other person, or
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(b) is not the spouse or civil partner of that other person and is not related to that other person within a prohibited degree of relationship but is or was in an intimate relationship with that other person.
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