New domestic abuse laws: what’s changed and what it means for survivors

Awareness creates understanding and understanding creates action. Knowing your rights and how the law is changing, can be a powerful part of staying safe and rebuilding. This is a plain-English summary of where things stand in 2026.

Stronger, more flexible protection: Domestic Abuse Protection Orders

One of the biggest changes is the introduction of Domestic Abuse Protection Orders (DAPOs) and the accompanying notices. Being piloted since November 2024, starting in areas including Greater Manchester, parts of London, Cleveland, North Wales and the British Transport Police, more than 1,000 orders had been issued within the first year.

What makes them different from earlier orders:

• No fixed time limit, protection can be tailored to the situation rather than expiring after a set period.
• They cover all forms of abuse, including coercive control, economic abuse, stalking and so-called “honour”-based abuse, not only physical violence.
• Courts can attach positive requirements, such as electronic monitoring (tagging) or attending a behaviour-change programme, not just “stay away” conditions.
• They can be applied for by the police, by a victim, or by a third party such as a local authority or a support charity.
• Breaching an order is a criminal offence, carrying a sentence of up to five years.

Coercive control taken more seriously

The Victims and Prisoners Act 2024 brought in important protections. From February 2025, offenders sentenced to 12 months or more for controlling or coercive behaviour are managed under MAPPA (Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements), the structured monitoring system previously used mainly for violent and sexual offenders. In practice that can mean ongoing risk assessment, restrictions and closer multi-agency oversight.

The Act also puts the role of specialist advisers, Independent Domestic Violence Advisers (IDVAs) and Independent Sexual Violence Advisers (ISVAs), on a clearer statutory footing, recognising the vital support they provide.

“Raneem’s Law”: specialist help when you call 999

Following the tragic murders of Raneem Oudeh and her mother Khaola Saleem and the failures that preceded them, measures known as “Raneem’s Law” are placing domestic abuse specialists directly inside 999 control rooms, piloted from early 2025. The aim is for victims to reach specialist support immediately and for call handlers and officers to get better advice on risk.

The Crime and Policing Act 2026

The wider Crime and Policing Act 2026 introduced several further measures relevant to abuse and safety, including:

• A dedicated spiking offence, making it absolutely clear that administering a harmful substance is a crime and encouraging victims to report.
• New offences around intimate-image abuse, including sexually explicit “deepfakes”.
• Stronger stalking protections, including giving victims the right to know the identity of their stalker.

The bigger picture

These changes sit within the government’s stated mission to halve violence against women and girls within a decade, supported by a cross-government strategy. Taken together, the direction of travel is clear: abuse that isn’t physical, coercion, control, monitoring, economic abuse, is increasingly recognised and acted upon in law.

Recognising abuse is the first step. The law is finally catching up with what survivors have long known: control and coercion are abuse.

This article is general information to raise awareness, not legal advice. Laws and pilot schemes can change and may differ across the UK. For advice about your situation, please speak to a specialist domestic abuse service or a qualified legal adviser.