The Concise Oxford Dictionary, he advised the Committee, defines distress as "extreme anxiety or suffering".ivJustice Committee, Official Report, 27 June 2017, col. 9 For the COPFS, Anne Marie Hicks said she did not see any need for "distress" to be qualified as "serious distress", as insufficiently serious incidents would not be considered to be "abusive" in the first place, and there would be no public interest in prosecuting them.vJustice Committee, Official Report, 6 June 2017, col. 27
On the issue of the required mental element for the offence, the Cabinet Secretary said it was considered necessary to include recklessness as intention could be difficult to prove in cases where the prosecution case rests on proof of coercive and controlling behaviour.viJustice Commitee, Official Report, 27 June 2017, col. 18 Anne Marie Hicks said that recklessness was a familiar legal concept, which prosecutors were accustomed to.