Landmark conviction in Controlling & Coercive Behaviour case

The Magistrates' Court has seen Gibraltar's first conviction for the offence of Controlling and Coercive behaviour.

It follows the enactment of the Domestic Abuse Act in 2023, which introduced new powers and offences to better tackle domestic abuse.

The Domestic Abuse Act strengthened protections for victims and gave police clearer tools to target patterns of abusive behaviour - not just isolated incidents.

At the Magistrates' Court, a 42 year old local man pleaded guilty to the offence of Coercive and Controlling Behaviour. The conviction followed what the RGP called a complex investigation by detectives from their Safeguarding Team.

We have not named the defendant in order to protect his victim's identity.

In this case, the abuser had been physically abusive towards his partner on four separate occasions.

He isolated her from friends and family, controlled her finances and her mobile phone use.

A statement from the RGP said he deprived her of her basic needs. He will be sentenced at a later date.

The RGP says this type of behaviour will not be tolerated and urges anyone affected by domestic abuse to come forward. 

You can contact the Domestic Abuse team on 200 72500. In an emergency call 999.