It is illegal for your partner to do these 11 things in a relationship

Changes to the law in recent years have made psychological abuse within a relationship illegal.

The offence of coercive control now recognises that domestic abuse can take several forms and is not strictly limited to physical violence.

Changes to legislation

The changes outlaw a number of things that were not previously covered by existing legislation, meaning emotional abuse of a partner is now also illegal.

Coercive control is the psychological abuse of a partner, which can be committed through threats and restrictions, as well as physical violence, and carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.

In Scotland, changes to the Domestic Abuse bill were passed by Parliament in 2018, making psychological abuse and coercive controlling behaviour within a relationship a criminal offence.

The bill was amended to include behaviour that could not easily be prosecuted using the existing criminal law.

The laws are also now enforced in England and Wales, with the amendments making the following 11 acts towards a partner illegal.

1. Sharing sexually explicit images of you - either online or not

New laws surrounding 'revenge porn' make it illegal for someone to share intimate photographs of you with anyone, whether that is on or offline.

It is illegal for someone to share intimate photographs of you with anyone else (Photo: Shutterstock)

2. Restricting your access to money

Even if they are the breadwinner, the law says one partner cannot stop the other from accessing money and should not give them "punitive allowances".

3. Repeatedly putting you down

Constant insults from a partner might not be typically thought of as domestic abuse, but under the new law, persistent name-calling, mocking and other forms of insulting behaviour are now illegal.

4. Stopping you from seeing friends or family

If your partner continually isolates you from the people you love - whether this is in the form of monitoring or blocking your calls or emails, telling you where you can or cannot go, or preventing you from seeing your friends or relatives - it is against the law.

Your partner isolating you from the people you love is against the law (Photo: Shutterstock)

5. Scaring you

Your partner might not physically assault you, but if they are doing enough to frighten you, they are committing an offence.

Women's Aid says this can include, but is not limited to:

6. Threatening to reveal private things about you

Whether your partner is saying they will tell people details about your health or sexual orientation, repeated threats to reveal personal and private information is a form of abuse.

7. Putting tracking devices on your phone

The Crown Prosecution Service says it is illegal under the new legislation to "monitor a person using online communication tools or spyware".

Monitoring a person using online communication tools or spyware is illegal under the new legislation (Photo: Shutterstock)

If your partner is reading your Facebook messages without permission, or insisting they track your devices, it is against the law.