Correct on the date of publication - 26 January 2026

Question: 

Can the offence under section 76 of the Serious Crime Act 2015 apply to coercive or controlling behaviour within an online relationship, where the parties have never met in person?

Answer:

Section 76 of the Serious Crime Act 2015 (SCA 2015) creates the offence of controlling or coercive behaviour between individuals who are personally connected. Section 76 provides that an offence is committed by a suspect (A) against a victim (B) if:

  • A repeatedly or continuously engages in behaviour towards another person, B, that is controlling or coercive;
  • at the time of the behaviour, A and B are personally connected;
  • the behaviour has a serious effect on B; and
  • A knows or ought to know that the behaviour will have a serious effect on B.

A significant element to consider is whether the parties are personally connected when in an online relationship. 
 
Personally connected

Under section 76(6), a suspect and victim are personally connected if -
  • they are, or have been, married to each other;
  • they are, or have been, civil partners of each other;
  • they have agreed to marry one another (whether or not the agreement has been terminated);
  • they have entered into a civil partnership agreement (whether or not the agreement has been terminated)
  • they are, or have been, in an intimate personal relationship with each other;
  • they each have, or there has been a time when they each have had, a parental relationship in relation to the same child; or
  • they are relatives.

Intimate personal relationship is not defined in statute. Therefore, the ordinary dictionary meaning of the words should be adopted. While many intimate personal relationships will involve a sexual relationship, that is not a requirement.  It can also include relationships where some other form of personal or emotional intimacy exists, for example if the victim and suspect are dating, or share a bed. The key question is intimacy; the victim and suspect do not have to cohabit nor have a particular form of relationship. Consideration of intimate personal relationships will be context specific.

Prior to 5th April 2023, in order for a victim and suspect who were former intimate partners or family members, to be personally connected, it was a requirement for them to be living together. Section 68 of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 removed the cohabitation requirement, with the definition now focusing on the relationship instead. The amendment is not retrospective and so will not apply to relationships before the 5th April 2023.

Persons involved in an online relationship may not live in in the same country however, section 76A of the SCA 2015 provides extra-territorial jurisdiction for offences under section 76, committed outside the United Kingdom, where the suspect is a UK national or habitually resident in England or Wales. Section 76A came in to force on the 29th June 2021. For any behaviour before that date, common law principles regarding jurisdiction will apply, namely, that there will be jurisdiction to try the offence where a substantial measure of the activities constituting the crime took place in England and Wales.

Therefore, in our opinion, 76(6) (they are, or have been, in an intimate personal relationship with each other) could be interpreted to include circumstances whereby two people converse or have conversed solely online, having built an emotional relationship and in so doing, are sharing or have shared personal information with each other. All points to prove for the offence would need to be evidenced in the circumstances and ultimately the matter would be for CPS / a court to determine. See Controlling or Coercive Behaviour in an Intimate or Family Relationship which provides full guidance on evidencing this offence. It may also be appropriate to consider communication offences such as threatening communications, contrary to section 181 of the Online Safety Act 2023, as an example but applicability will depend on relevant offending behaviour. 
 
You may also find the Home Office guidance on controlling or coercive behaviour helpful.

View the full Legal Q&A document here, with links to related and similar legal questions.

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