الأمن النفسي كعنصر جوهري في العنف الزوجي غير المرئي: منظور القانون الجنائي / Psychological Security as an Essential Element in Invisible Domestic Violence: A Criminal Law Perspective | ||
| مجلة البحوث الفقهية والقانونية | ||
| Volume 50, Issue 50, July 2025, Pages 609-710 PDF (1.25 M) | ||
| Document Type: المقالة الأصلية | ||
| DOI: 10.21608/jlr.2025.404465.1789 | ||
| Author | ||
| محمد فتحي شحته إبراهيم دياب دياب* | ||
| جامعة حائل - كلية الشريعة والقانون | ||
| Abstract | ||
| يتناول البحث "الأمن النفسي كعنصر مادي في العنف الزوجي غير المرئي"، مستعرضًا إياه من منظور القانون الجنائي. تنطلق مشكلة البحث من قصور التشريعات الحالية التي تركز بشكل شبه حصري على الأذى الجسدي الملموس، وتُغفل الإيذاء النفسي الممنهج، على الرغم من آثاره المدمرة التي لا تقل خطورة. هذا القصور يترك الضحايا، خاصة أولئك الذين لا يحملون ندوبًا جسدية، في فراغ قانوني يحرمهم من الحماية والعدالة. تكمن أهمية البحث في تسليط الضوء على هذه الفجوة والدعوة إلى فهم أوسع للعنف الزوجي يعترف بالضرر غير المادي. يهدف البحث بشكل أساس إلى إثبات ضرورة إدراج الأمن النفسي بوصفه عنصرا جوهريا وماديا في تعريف العنف الزوجي قانونيًّا، مجيبًا على التساؤل المحوري: كيف يمكن إصلاح النظم القانونية لتجريم الإيذاء النفسي وحماية ضحاياه بفعالية؟ ولتحقيق ذلك، اعتمد البحث على المنهج المختلط، الذي يجمع بين التحليل النوعي عبر مقابلات معمقة مع الضحايا لفهم تجاربهم، والبيانات الكمية من خلال الاستطلاعات والتحليل القانوني المقارن. كشفت النتائج عن وجود فجوة تشريعية كبيرة، وأن الإيذاء النفسي، عبر أنماط مثل السيطرة القسرية والتلاعب العاطفي، يسبب أضرارًا نفسية ملموسة وموثقة. كما أظهرت أن ضحايا العنف النفسي أقل حظًّا في الحصول على نتائج قانونية منصفة. وبناءً عليه، يوصي البحث بشكل أساس بضرورة تعديل القوانين لتجريم الإيذاء النفسي صراحةً، وتطوير قواعد إثبات مرنة، وتدريب الكوادر القضائية والقانونية على ديناميكياته، ورفع الوعي المجتمعي بخطورة هذه الظاهرة الخفية. This research investigates "Psychological Security as a Material Element in Unseen Marital Violence" from a criminal law perspective. The research problem stems from the deficiencies of current legislation, which focuses almost exclusively on tangible physical harm while overlooking systematic psychological abuse, despite its equally devastating impact. This legislative lacuna leaves victims, particularly those without physical scars, in a legal vacuum, depriving them of adequate protection and access to justice. The significance of this research lies in highlighting this chasm and advocating for a broader jurisprudential understanding of marital violence that recognizes non-material harm. The primary objective is to establish the necessity of incorporating psychological security as a fundamental and material element within the legal definition of marital violence. It addresses the central question: How can legal systems be reformed to effectively criminalize psychological abuse and protect its victims? To this end, the research employs a mixed-methods approach, combining qualitative analysis of in-depth victim interviews with quantitative data from surveys and comparative legal analysis. The findings reveal a significant legislative gap, demonstrating that psychological abuse, through patterns such as coercive control and emotional manipulation, inflicts tangible and documented psychological harm. Furthermore, the study shows that victims of psychological abuse face inequitable legal outcomes. Consequently, the research principally recommends the explicit criminalization of psychological abuse in statutory law, the development of flexible evidentiary rules, specialized training for the judiciary and legal professionals on its dynamics, and raising public awareness of this insidious phenomenon. | ||
| Keywords | ||
| تجريم العنف النفسي، السيطرة القسرية، الأمن النفسي، العنف غير المرئي، الحماية القانونية./ Criminalization of Psychological Abuse; Coercive Control; Psychological Security; Unseen Violence; Legal Protection | ||
| References | ||
References: Adams, A. E., Sullivan, C. M., Bybee, D., & Greeson, M. R. (2008). "Development of the Scale of Economic Abuse". Violence Against Women, 14(5), 563–588. Allen, J. (2018). The Specialist Court Model: A Panacea for Domestic Violence? A Critical Review. Criminology & Criminal Justice, 18(3), 301–318. Al-Rasheed, M. (2015). The Saudi 'Protection Against Abuse' System: A Step Forward? Journal of Middle East Women's Studies, 11(3), 354–361. Anderson, K. L., & Saunders, D. G. (2003). "Leaving an Abusive Partner: An Empirical Review of Predictors, the Process of Leaving, and Psychological Well-Being". Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 4(2), 163–191. Ashworth, A., & Horder, J. (2013). Principles of Criminal Law (7th ed.). Oxford University Press. Badran, A. (2021). Fragmented Justice: Why General Criminal Provisions Fail to Address Domestic Abuse in the Arab World. Arab Law Quarterly, 35(4), 398–419. Barlow, C., Johnson, K., & Munro, V. E. (2019). ‘It’s not a crime to be a bastard, is it?’: The challenges of policing coercive control. The British Journal of Criminology, 59(5), 1109–1129. Barrett, B. J., & St. Pierre, M. (2021). "The Role of Animal Maltreatment in a Coercive Control Framework". Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 36(1-2), NP3-NP28. Billaud, S. (2018). The Law as a Double-Edged Sword: The Appropriation of the Criminalisation of Psychological Violence by Women in France. Social & Legal Studies, 27(4), 445–463. Bishop, C., & Bettinson, V. (2018). "Evidencing Coercive Control: A New Dawn for Victim-Survivors?". Journal of Law and Society, 45(1), pp. 229-257. Bishop, C., & Bettinson, V. (2018). "Evidencing Coercive Control: A New Dawn for Victim-Survivors?". Journal of Law and Society, 45(1), 229-257. Bishop, C., & Bettinson, V. (2018). Evidencing Coercive Control: A New Dawn? The Journal of Criminal Law, 82(1), 58–72. Bravo, P. (2020). "Coercive Control and Human Dignity: A Feminist Argument for a Human Rights Approach to Intimate Partner Violence". The International Journal of Human Rights, 24(10), 1735-1753. Brennan, F., & Burton, M. (2017). The prosecution of coercive control: What is the 'prosecution challenge'? Journal of Family Violence, 32(8), 769–773. Burton, M. (2018). "Getting it Right? The Offence of Coercive or Controlling Behaviour and the Role of the 'Reasonable Person'". The Journal of Criminal Law, 82(2), 118–135. Burton, M. (2018). Re-conceptualising 'Domestic Violence': The Case for a 'Pattern-Based' Offence. The Journal of Criminal Law, 82(3), 213–229. Burton, M. (2018). "Getting it Right? The Offence of Coercive or Controlling Behaviour and the Role of the 'Reasonable Person'". The Journal of Criminal Law, 82(2), 118–135. Calvès, G. (2012). The Criminalization of Psychological Harassment in France. International Journal of Discrimination and the Law, 12(1-2), 49–60. Chalmers, J., & Leverick, F. (2008). "Fair Labelling in Criminal Law". The Modern Law Review, 71(2), 217–246. Christie, N. (2016). A Suitable Amount of Crime. Routledge. Coekelbergh, M. (2021). Procedural Justice and Witness Protection in the Digital Age. Ethics and Information Technology, 23(3), 265–275. Coker, A. L., Davis, K. E., Arias, I., Desai, S., Sanderson, M., Brandt, H. M., & Smith, P. H. (2002). "Physical and mental health effects of intimate partner violence for men and women". American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 23(4), 260–268. Cook, N. (2009). "Controlling the 'Bitch': Gender, Language, and the Coercive Control of Women". Griffith Law Review, 18(1), 121-147. Cretney, S. (2014). The criminalisation of emotional abuse: A comparative critique of the French and English approaches. Journal of Family Law and Practice, 4(1), 1-15. Crossman, K. A., Hardesty, J. L., & Raffaelli, M. (2016). "‘He’s a Master of Manipulation’: Women’s Experiences of Coercive Control in Abusive Relationships". Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 31(15), 2593–2615. Crossman, K. A., Hardesty, J. L., & Raffaelli, M. (2016). "‘He’s a Master of Manipulation’: Women’s Experiences of Coercive Control in Abusive Relationships". Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 31(15), 2593–2615. Dobash, R. E., & Dobash, R. P. (1998). Rethinking Violence Against Women. Sage Publications. Douglas, H. (2015). "The Criminal Law's Response to Domestic Violence: What's a Crime and What's Not". Sydney Law Review, 37(3), 345–371. Douglas, H. (2015). The criminal law's response to domestic violence: What's working, what's not, and where to from here?. New South Wales Law Journal, 38(1), 1-21. Douglas, H. (2018). Legal Systems Abuse and Coercive Control. Criminology & Criminal Justice, 18(1), 84–99. Douglas, H. (2018). "Criminalizing Coercive Control: The Challenges of Proof". University of Queensland Law Journal, 37(2), pp. 235-252. Douglas, H. (2018). "Criminalizing Coercive Control: The Challenges of Proof". University of Queensland Law Journal, 37(2), 235-252. Douglas, H., & Dragiewicz, M. (2017). "Legal systems abuse and coercive control". Criminology & Criminal Justice, 17(5), 504–520. Dragiewicz, M., Harris, B., & Woodlock, D. (2018). "Technology-Facilitated Coercive Control: 'It's Not Just a Domestic Violence Issue'". Violence Against Women, 24(1), 58-77. Drivet, M. (2019). Victim-Centred Justice and the Challenge to Legal Certainty in French Domestic Violence Law. French Politics, Culture & Society, 37(2), 45–64. Dubois, C. (2019). Defining the 'Family' in Family Violence: A Comparative Analysis of European Legislative Scopes. European Journal of Comparative Law and Governance, 6(3), 215–238. Duff, R. A. (2018). Responsibility, Citizenship, and Criminal Law. In Philosophical Foundations of Criminal Law (pp. 125-148). Oxford University Press. Edleson, J. L. (1999). "Children's Witnessing of Adult Domestic Violence". Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 14(8), 839–870. Erez, E. (2002). "The struggle for recognition: Victim-advocates and the criminal justice system". Criminal Justice, 2(1), 5-27. erroud, J. B. (2020). The Judge as Diagnostician: Medical Evidence and Judicial Discretion in Cases of 'Harcèlement Moral'. Revue de Science Criminelle et de Droit Pénal Comparé, (3), 511–528. Fileborn, B., & Loney-Howes, R. (2019). The Criminalisation of 'Emotional Abuse': A Socio-Legal Critique. In Challenging the 'Ideal' Victim (pp. 67-86). Routledge. Fileborn, B., & Vlais, R. (2019). "Legislating Coercive Control: The Limits and Possibilities of Law". In The Limits of the Law: The Role of Law in Responding to and Preventing Gendered Violence (pp. 125-144). Emerald Publishing Limited. Fileborn, B., & Vlais, R. (2019). "Legislating Coercive Control: The Limits and Possibilities of Law". In The Limits of the Law: The Role of Law in Responding to and Preventing Gendered Violence. Emerald Publishing Limited. Fineman, M. A. (1995). The Neutered Mother, the Sexual Family and Other Twentieth Century Tragedies. Routledge. Fletcher, G. P. (2000). Rethinking Criminal Law. Oxford University Press. (Originally published 1978). Follingstad, D. R., & DeHart, D. D. (2000). "The Connection Between Verbal Abuse and Substance Abuse in Battering Relationships". Journal of Family Violence, 15(4), 409–427. Gerry, L., & Fitz-Gibbon, K. (2020). "The 'Fair-Warning' Principle and the Criminalisation of Coercive Control". New Criminal Law Review, 23(3), 335–364. Hayes, B. E. (2021). The Enduring Chain: Legislating Against Post-Separation Coercive Control. Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law, 43(2), 145–162. Hearn, J. (1998). The Violences of Men: How Men Talk About and How Agencies Respond to Men's Violence to Women. Sage Publications. Henry, N. (2020). Technology-Facilitated Abuse: A New Frontier in Criminological Inquiry. The British Journal of Criminology, 60(6), 1435–1454. Herman, J. L. (2015). Trauma and recovery: The aftermath of violence—from domestic abuse to political terror. Basic Books. (Originally published 1992). Hester, M. (2013). "Who Does What to Whom? Gender and Domestic Violence Perpetrators". In Gender and Crime: A Reader. Sage Publications. Hussein, A. (2018). Reconciling Protection and Reconciliation: The Jordanian Law on Protection from Family Violence. Hawwa, 16(1-2), 115–139. Jackson, J. (2020). On the Foundations of Procedural Legitimacy: The Importance of Training and Professional Culture in Policing. Criminology & Public Policy, 19(3), 785–809. Jad, I. (2019). Navigating the Labyrinth: Women's Encounters with the Legal System in Domestic Violence Cases in the Levant. Journal of Middle East Women's Studies, 15(2), 155–174. Johnson, M. P. (2008). A Typology of Domestic Violence: Intimate Terrorism, Violent Resistance, and Situational Couple Violence. Northeastern University Press. Katz, J. (2020). The Macho Paradox: Why Some Men Hurt Women and How All Men Can Help. Sourcebooks. Kelly, L. (2020). Beyond Status: A Functional Approach to Defining 'Domestic Relationship' in Modern Protection Orders. Law & Society Review, 54(4), 801–829. Kelly, L., & Westmarland, N. (2016). Naming and defining ‘coercive control’: Findings from the a-z of coercive control project. Journal of Gender-Based Violence, 1(1), 81-99. https://doi.org/10.1332/239868016X14683299934769 Krag, E. (2019). The Civil-Criminal Nexus: How Protection Orders Bridge the Gap in Domestic Violence Response. Law & Social Inquiry, 44(2), 450–475. Legrand, P. (1997). The Impossibility of 'Legal Transplants'. Maastricht Journal of European and Comparative Law, 4(2), 111–124. Lelieur, J. (2011). The criminalisation of psychological violence in France. The Journal of Criminal Law, 75(4), 288–292. MacDowell, E. L. (2018). "Coercive Control and the Right to an 'Inner Sphere'". UCLA Women's Law Journal, 25(1), 1-46. Marguet, L. (2016). Proving psychological violence: The French experience. In M.A.H. Horvath & J.M. Brown (Eds.), Rape: Challenging Contemporary Thinking (pp. 215-230). Routledge. Matsopoulou, H. (2011). Le délit de violences psychologiques au sein du couple: une infraction à l'épreuve du principe de légalité [The offence of psychological violence within the couple: An offence tested by the principle of legality]. Recueil Dalloz, (35), 2415-2421. McMahon, M. (2015). "The criminalisation of coercive control in England and Wales: A step in the right direction?". Feminist Legal Studies, 23(1), 25–44. Meyer, S. (2012). "What's in a Name? The Role of the 'Victim' in the Prosecution of Domestic Violence". Feminist Legal Studies, 20(1), 1-17. Miller, S. L. (2001). "The Paradox of Women's Imprisonment: A Critical Analysis of Judicial and Prosecutorial Discretion in the Context of Intimate Partner Violence". Feminist Criminology, 1(2), 166-186. Monckton Smith, J. (2021). In Control: Dangerous Relationships and How to Identify Them. Bloomsbury Publishing. Munro, V. E., & Wiener, C. (2021). The ‘Glocal’ Politics of Coercive Control. Social & Legal Studies, 30(2), 295–317. Myhill, A. (2015). "Measuring Coercive Control: What can we learn from national population surveys?". Criminology & Criminal Justice, 15(2), pp. 239-257. O'Leary, K. D. (1999). "Psychological Abuse: A Variable Deserving of Research Attention". Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 14(1), 3–23. Pin, X. (2016). Le harcèlement moral dans le couple: entre protection de la victime et respect des principes du droit pénal [Moral Harassment within the Couple: Between Victim Protection and Respect for the Principles of Criminal Law]. Revue de science criminelle et de droit pénal comparé, (1), 5-20. Ptacek, J. (1999). Battered Women in the Courtroom: The Power of Judicial Responses. Northeastern University Press. Reed, A., & Wake, N. (2017). The Coercive or Controlling Behaviour Offence of Section 76 of the Serious Crime Act 2015: A Case for the Law Commission? The Journal of Criminal Law, 81(5), 400–416. Roberts, J. (2018). "Coercive Control and the Criminal Law". Current Legal Problems, 71(1), 185-215. Roberts, P. (2022). The Evidentiary Mosaic: Assembling Proof in Coercive Control Prosecutions. The Modern Law Review, 85(3), 554–581. Schneider, E. M. (2000). Battered Women & Feminist Lawmaking. Yale University Press. Shalhoub-Kevorkian, N. (2020). The Politics of the 'Private': Domestic Violence Legislation and the Re-inscription of Patriarchal Order in the MENA Region. Feminist Legal Studies, 28(3), 241–262. Sharp-Jeffs, N. (2015). Money matters: Research into the prevalence and nature of economic abuse. The Co-operative Bank and Refuge. Sharp-Jeffs, N. (2018). 'It's a marathon, not a sprint': Coercive control and the long-term-welfare needs of survivors. Violence Against Women, 24(13), 1515–1535. Sharp-Jeffs, N., & Kelly, L. (2020). "‘It’s a whole-system approach’: Economic abuse and the coercive control framework in England and Wales". Violence Against Women, 26(15-16), 1888-1910. Sheehan, R. (2021). The Expert as Educator: Demystifying Victim Behaviour in Coercive Control Trials. Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, 27(2), 215–229. Sjolin, C. (2017). "The New Coercive or Controlling Behaviour Offence". The Journal of Criminal Law, 81(2), 130–145. Stark, E. (2007). Coercive control: How men entrap women in personal life. Oxford University Press. Stark, E. (2007). Coercive Control: How Men Entrap Women in Personal Life. Oxford University Press. Stark, E. (2007). Coercive Control: How Men Entrap Women in Personal Life. Oxford University Press Stark, E. (2007). Coercive Control: How Men Entrap Women in Personal Life. Oxford University Press. Stark, E. (2009). "Rethinking Coercive Control". Violence Against Women, 15(12), 1509–1525. Stark, E., & Hester, M. (2019). Coercive Control: Update and Review. Violence Against Women, 25(1), 81–104. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077801218816191 Sweet, P. L. (2019). "The Sociology of Gaslighting". American Sociological Review, 84(5), 851–875. Taslitz, A. E. (2006). "Patriarchal Stories I: Cultural Rape Narratives in the Courtroom". Southern California Law Review, 79(3), 579-664. Tolmie, J. (2018). "Coercive control: To criminalize or not to criminalize?". Criminology & Criminal Justice, 18(1), 50–66. Tully, K. (2020). "The 'Serious Effect' of Coercive Control: A Barrier to Justice?". The Howard Journal of Crime and Justice, 59(1), 3–21. Wagstaff, C. (2020). "Invisible Harms, Tangible Consequences: The Shortcomings of the Law on Assault in Responding to Psychological Abuse". The Journal of Criminal Law, 84(1), 45-61. Walklate, S., & Fitz-Gibbon, K. (2018). The criminalisation of coercive control: The power of law? International Journal for Crime, Justice and Social Democracy, 7(4), 94–108. Walklate, S., & Fitz-Gibbon, K. (2019). "The criminalisation of coercive control: The sins of the fathers?". International Journal for Crime, Justice and Social Democracy, 8(4), 94–108. Wangmann, J. (2017). "Different Types of Intimate Partner Violence, Same Criminal Justice Response?". The Howard Journal of Crime and Justice, 56(1), 45–63. Westmarland, N. (2015). Violence against women: Criminological perspectives on men's treatment. Routledge. Wexler, D. B. (2017). The Development of Therapeutic Jurisprudence: From Theory to Practice. Revista de la Facultad de Derecho de México, 67(268), 895–911. Wiener, C. (2017). "Seeing What Is 'Invisible to the Naked Eye': The Criminalization of Coercive Control". Liverpool Law Review, 38(2), 179–203. Wiener, C. (2017). See what you made me do: The criminalisation of coercive control in England and Wales. The Journal of Criminal Law, 81(6), 533-549. Wiener, C. (2017). See What You Made Me Do: The Criminalisation of Coercive Control. Feminist Legal Studies, 25(3), 295–314. Wiener, C. (2017). See what you made me do: The criminalisation of coercive control in England and Wales. The Journal of Criminal Law, 81(6), 533-549. World Health Organization. (2022). Mental health: Strengthening our response.
| ||
|
Statistics Article View: 84 PDF Download: 159 |
||
