Victim blaming a 'key barrier' to tackling domestic violence, survey finds

Coercive control, a persistent pattern of controlling, coercive and threatening behaviour including all or some forms of domestic abuse, became a criminal offence on January 1, 2019. File picture

Victim blaming and not knowing who to report abuse to remain key barriers to tackling domestic violence, according to a new survey.

The research carried out for Women’s Aid found that nine out of 10 people believe domestic abuse and coercive control need to be taken more seriously while 89% want to see the legal system do more to hold perpetrators accountable.