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The Government has published its long-awaited post-legislative scrutiny memorandum on the Domestic Abuse Act 2021, setting out its assessment of the landmark legislation five years after it received Royal Assent.
The policy paper, published by the Home Office on 29 April 2026, provides an overview of how the Act has been implemented and evaluates whether it has achieved its core objectives of improving protection for victims, strengthening the justice system’s response to domestic abuse and increasing accountability for perpetrators.
Prepared for submission to both the Home Affairs Committee and the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Committee, the memorandum draws on evidence gathered during implementation as well as consultation with a broad range of stakeholders across the domestic abuse and justice sectors.
Contributors included the Office of the Domestic Abuse Commissioner for England and Wales, policing bodies, the Crown Prosecution Service, HM Courts & Tribunals Service, devolved administrations and specialist domestic abuse organisations.
The review places the Act within the wider framework of government policy on violence against women and girls, including the 2021 Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy, the 2022 Tackling Domestic Abuse Action Plan and the government’s latest strategy, Freedom from Violence and Abuse, published in December 2025. That strategy commits the government to halving violence against women and girls within a decade through 259 separate policy commitments.
The memorandum reiterates that the Domestic Abuse Act was introduced in response to the persistent prevalence of domestic abuse in England and Wales and was intended to provide a more coherent statutory framework for tackling abuse and supporting victims.
Among the Act’s most significant reforms was the introduction of a statutory definition of domestic abuse, recognising not only physical violence but also coercive and controlling behaviour, emotional abuse, economic abuse and psychological harm. The legislation also formally recognised children as victims in their own right where they see, hear or experience the effects of domestic abuse.
The Act additionally created the independent role of the Domestic Abuse Commissioner for England and Wales to oversee and scrutinise the national response to domestic abuse, promote best practice and hold public authorities to account.
Other key measures included the introduction of new civil protection orders, strengthened protections for victims in the family and criminal courts, and statutory duties on upper-tier local authorities to provide support within safe accommodation services for victims and their children.
The Government said the memorandum reflects feedback gathered throughout implementation and incorporates stakeholder observations on both progress and continuing challenges within the system. It also acknowledged the importance of improving coordination across agencies and ensuring consistent support for victims.
The scrutiny process is expected to inform future parliamentary examination of how effectively the legislation has operated in practice and whether further reforms are required to strengthen protections for victims and improve systemic responses to domestic abuse.
To read the full document, click here.
