De-Criminalising Adolescent to Parent Violence Under s 76 Serious Crime Act 2015

This article questions the appropriateness of including adolescent to parent violence (APV) within the elements of a criminal offence designed to criminalise domestic violence and abuse (DVA). The offence, s. 76 Serious Crime Act 2015 prohibits controlling and coercive behaviours towards a person personally connected to the defendant. This spans on-going intimate relationships and a wide range of family relationships. The authors conducted a small-scale research study that looked at practitioner’s understandings of APV, and found that many cases of APV could satisfy the s. 76 offence. The article examines the correlation between the concepts of coercive control and APV, noting that there are significant differences that justify treating adolescent-perpetrators of APV differently to adult-perpetrators of intimate partner coercive control in the criminal law. These factors concern the unique vulnerabilities of both the parent-victim and the adolescent-perpetrator in APV and human rights law requires the equal protection of both parties on the basis of their vulnerability.