Nine years on from the Serious Crime Act 2015: Reflections on hopes, fears, progress and challenges around coercive control within a legislative framework, and on the importance of a feminist analysis of domestic abuse... in conversation with Polly Neate.

The article focuses on reflections nine years after the Serious Crime Act 2015, which criminalised coercive and controlling behaviour in intimate or family relationships in England and Wales. Polly Neate, former CEO of Women’s Aid and current CEO of Shelter, discusses the Act’s impact on legal and societal understandings of domestic abuse, highlighting its role in shifting the perception of abuse from isolated incidents to patterns of power and control. While prosecutions under the Act remain low, the legislation has contributed to cultural change and recognition of coercive control as central to domestic abuse. Challenges persist, particularly regarding access to justice for marginalised groups such as LGBTQ+ and Traveller communities, and concerns remain about underfunding of specialist services and the ongoing weaponisation of family courts. Neate also expresses apprehension about the current state of feminism and its influence on domestic abuse discourse, emphasizing the need for intersectional feminist analysis to sustain progress.