16 January 2026
Non-molestation orders are meant to be the frontline defence against domestic abuse, yet their enforcement often falls short. Writing in NLJ this week, Jeni Kavanagh, Jessica Mortimer and Oliver Kavanagh analyse why the criminalisation of breach has failed to deliver consistent protection
While recent authority has clarified that formal service is not required before enforcement, a deeper problem remains: criminal courts apply a high ‘oppressive conduct’ threshold drawn from harassment law. The result is a doctrinal mismatch between what family courts prohibit and what criminal courts will punish.
The authors show how patterns of coercive control—central to modern understandings of abuse—can evade prosecution precisely because victims have learned to mask distress. They call for judicial or legislative recalibration to realign enforcement with Parliament’s original intent, alongside clearer drafting of NMOs.
Without reform, the promise of protection risks remaining largely illusory.
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