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Criminalising Non-Fatal Strangulation in the United Kingdom: Comparative Legal Analysis and Early Evidence on Intimate Partner Homicides

Author

Listed:
  • Lisa Cherkassky

    (Law School, University of Exeter)

  • Alaiba Faheem

    (Department of Economics, University of Exeter)

  • Sonia Oreffice

    (Department of Economics, University of Exeter)

  • Climent Quintana-Domeque

    (Department of Economics, University of Exeter)

Abstract

This article examines how non-fatal strangulation and suffocation (NFS) is criminalised across United Kingdom jurisdictions and whether the introduction of a standalone NFS offence in England and Wales is associated with changes in intimate partner homicide (IPH). Its principal contribution is comparative and legal: it shows how England and Wales, Northern Ireland, and Scotland differ in defining, charging, and proving NFS-type conduct. The article then uses a jurisdiction-year panel for England and Wales and Scotland to estimate an exploratory difference-in-differences specification of IPH counts and rates following the June 2022 reform in England and Wales. Descriptive patterns suggest a relative post-reform decline in female-victim IPH counts in England and Wales, but inference is limited by the two-jurisdiction comparison, short post-reform window, rare-event volatility, and pre-trend concerns. The quantitative analysis is therefore best understood as an exploratory extension that identifies hypothesis-consistent patterns rather than clear causal evidence.

Suggested Citation

  • Lisa Cherkassky & Alaiba Faheem & Sonia Oreffice & Climent Quintana-Domeque, 2026. "Criminalising Non-Fatal Strangulation in the United Kingdom: Comparative Legal Analysis and Early Evidence on Intimate Partner Homicides," Discussion Papers 2604, University of Exeter, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:exe:wpaper:2604
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    File URL: https://exetereconomics.github.io/RePEc/dpapers/DP2604.pdf
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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • K14 - Law and Economics - - Basic Areas of Law - - - Criminal Law
    • K42 - Law and Economics - - Legal Procedure, the Legal System, and Illegal Behavior - - - Illegal Behavior and the Enforcement of Law
    • J12 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Marriage; Marital Dissolution; Family Structure
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health

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