Petition · past parliament
Mandatory arrest for perpetrators of mental and coercive domestic abuse.
Rejected
21 signatures
What the petition asks
Currently, the police have the power to arrest a suspect of physical domestic violence where physical injuries are apparent, irrespective of whether the victim wants to press charges or not. However, mental and coercive behaviours can impact a victim just as much if not more.
This issue is more apparent as all of the UK is on lockdown due to having a pandemic of Covid -19.Coercive and mental abuse does not leave physical scars and bruises, therefore as the police cannot visually see evidence of abuse, the police are unable to provide protection for a victim and provide justice as they would for physical violence offences.
Why it was rejected
It asked for something that is not the responsibility of the UK Government or Parliament.
Controlling or coercive behaviour in an intimate or family relationship is already an offence. Investigating suspected offences and charging people with an offence is a matter for the police and Crown Prosecution Service, not the Government or House of Commons.
We have published the following petitions, calling on the Government to increase support for victims of domestic violence during the Covid-19 outbreak:
Fund more advertising for helplines for children and domestic violence victims: Fund more advertising for helplines for children and domestic violence victims
Fund increased social services support & emergency accommodation during Covid19: Fund increased social services support & emergency accommodation during Covid19
The Government has published guidance on getting help with domestic abuse during the Covid-19 outbreak: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/domestic-abuse-how-to-get-help
You can find out more about coronavirus and how you can protect yourself and others here:
www.gov.uk/coronavirus
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/
The Government has also created an online service to help you find out what you can do if you’re struggling because of coronavirus: https://www.gov.uk/find-coronavirus-support
You can read NHS tips to help if you are worried about coronavirus here: https://www.nhs.uk/oneyou/every-mind-matters/coronavirus-covid-19-anxiety-tips
You can read impartial analysis of the Government response to coronavirus and policy developments here: https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/coronavirus/
You may also be interested to know that because of the large number of petitions that have been started in relation to coronavirus, the Petitions Committee has been questioning the Government about its response to the coronavirus outbreak.
Find out more: https://committees.parliament.uk/work/192/the-governments-response-to-coronavirus/
We have published the following petitions, calling on the Government to increase support for victims of domestic violence during the Covid-19 outbreak:
Fund more advertising for helplines for children and domestic violence victims: Fund more advertising for helplines for children and domestic violence victims
Fund increased social services support & emergency accommodation during Covid19: Fund increased social services support & emergency accommodation during Covid19
The Government has published guidance on getting help with domestic abuse during the Covid-19 outbreak: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/domestic-abuse-how-to-get-help
You can find out more about coronavirus and how you can protect yourself and others here:
www.gov.uk/coronavirus
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/
The Government has also created an online service to help you find out what you can do if you’re struggling because of coronavirus: https://www.gov.uk/find-coronavirus-support
You can read NHS tips to help if you are worried about coronavirus here: https://www.nhs.uk/oneyou/every-mind-matters/coronavirus-covid-19-anxiety-tips
You can read impartial analysis of the Government response to coronavirus and policy developments here: https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/coronavirus/
You may also be interested to know that because of the large number of petitions that have been started in relation to coronavirus, the Petitions Committee has been questioning the Government about its response to the coronavirus outbreak.
Find out more: https://committees.parliament.uk/work/192/the-governments-response-to-coronavirus/
Timeline
| 24 Apr 2020 | Petition opened for signatures |
| 3 Jul 2020 | Rejected by the Petitions Committee |
Key facts
Signatures
21
Status
Rejected
Rejected
3 Jul 2020
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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 15 Jul 2026.