S 702

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026
Bill 702
Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter
(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)
A bill
TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY AMENDING
SECTION 16-25-10, RELATING TO DEFINITIONS PERTAINING TO A "DATING RELATIONSHIP"
AND "COERCIVE CONTROL", SO AS TO INCLUDE PERSONS WHO ARE PRESENTLY IN OR HAVE
FORMERLY BEEN IN A DATING RELATIONSHIP IN THE DEFINITION OF "HOUSEHOLD MEMBER"
AND TO ADD THE DEFINITIONS OF DATING RELATIONSHIP AND COERCIVE CONTROL; BY
AMENDING SECTION 16-25-20, RELATING TO PROHIBITED ACTS, SO AS TO MAKE IT
UNLAWFUL FOR A PERSON TO ENGAGE IN COERCIVE CONTROL OVER A PERSON'S OWN
HOUSEHOLD; BY AMENDING SECTION 20-3-10, RELATING TO GROUNDS FOR DIVORCE, SO AS
TO INCLUDE CRIMINAL DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AGAINST A SPOUSE, STALKING, AND
HARASSMENT AS GROUNDS FOR DIVORCE; BY AMENDING SECTION 20-4-20, RELATING TO
DEFINITIONS PERTAINING TO ABUSE, SO AS TO INCLUDE HARASSMENT, STALKING, AND
COERCIVE CONTROL INTO THE DEFINITIONS OF "ABUSE" AND TO FURTHER PROVIDE THAT A
HOUSEHOLD MEMBER INCLUDES PERSONS WHO ARE PRESENTLY IN OR HAVE FORMERLY BEEN IN
A DATING RELATIONSHIP; AND BY AMENDING SECTION 63-15-240, RELATING TO THE
CONTENTS OF ORDER FOR CUSTODY AFFECTING RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF PARENTS
AND THE BEST INTERESTS OF THE CHILD, SO AS TO INCLUDE THE STATUTORY REFERENCE
TO DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND ADD STALKING AND HARASSMENT AS ACTIVITY FOR A COURT TO
CONSIDER WHEN DETERMINING WHAT IS IN THE BEST INTEREST OF A CHILD.
Be it enacted by the
General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1.  Section 16-25-10 of the S.C. Code is amended to read:
    Section
16-25-10.  As used in this article, the term:
    (1)
"Deadly weapon" means any pistol, dirk, slingshot, metal knuckles, razor, or
other instrument which can be used to inflict deadly force.
    (2)
"Great bodily injury" means bodily injury which causes a substantial risk of
death or which causes serious, permanent disfigurement or protracted loss or
impairment of the function of a bodily member or organ.
    (3)
"Household member" means:
       (a)
a spouse;
       (b)
a former spouse;
       (c)
persons who have a child in common;  or
       (d)
a male and femalepersons
who are cohabiting or formerly have cohabited.; or
       (e) persons who are presently in or
have formerly been in a dating relationship.
    (4)
"Moderate bodily injury" means physical injury that involves prolonged loss of
consciousness or that causes temporary or moderate disfigurement or temporary
loss of the function of a bodily member or organ or injury that requires
medical treatment when the treatment requires the use of regional or general
anesthesia or injury that results in a fracture or dislocation. Moderate bodily
injury does not include one-time treatment and subsequent observation of
scratches, cuts, abrasions, bruises, burns, splinters, or any other minor
injuries that do not ordinarily require extensive medical care.
    (5)
"Prior conviction of domestic violence" includes conviction of any crime, in
any state, containing among its elements those enumerated in, or substantially
similar to those enumerated in, Section 16-25-20(A) that is committed against a
household member as defined in item (3) within the ten years prior to the
incident date of the current offense.
    (6)
"Protection order" means any order of protection, restraining order, condition
of bond, or any other similar order issued in this State or another state or
foreign jurisdiction for the purpose of protecting a household member.
    (7)
"Firearm" means a pistol, revolver, rifle, shotgun, machine gun, submachine
gun, or an assault rifle which is designed to fire or is capable of firing
fixed cartridge ammunition or from which a shot or projectile is discharged by
an explosive but does not include an antique firearm as defined in 18 U.S.C.
921(a)(16).
    (8)(a) "Dating relationship" means a
romantic, courtship, or engagement relationship between two individuals that
need not include sexual involvement. In addition to any other factors the court
deems relevant, the court may consider the following factors when determining
whether a relationship exists or existed:
  (i) length of the relationship;
  (ii) the nature or type of the
relationship;
  (iii) the frequency of interaction
between the two individuals involved in the relationship; and
  (iv) the time since termination of the
relationship, if applicable.
       (b) A "dating relationship" does not include
a casual relationship or ordinary fraternization between two individuals in a
business or social context.
    (9) "Coercive Control" means a pattern
of behavior that in purpose or effect unreasonably interferes with a person's
free will and personal liberty. "Coercive control" includes a pattern of
behavior that seeks to destroy the mental and emotional state of the other
person, strip away the individual's sense of self, including bodily integrity
and human rights. "Coercive control" may be committed directly or indirectly,
including through the use of a third party and by any method or through any
means including, but not limited to, telephone, online accounts, text messages,
internet-connected devices or other electronic technologies. "Coercive control"
does not include actions taken pursuant to a court order, court approved legal
agreement, at the direction of law enforcement, or to protect the safety of a
child. "Coercive control" is designed to make an individual dependent by
isolating them from support, exploiting them, depriving them of independence
and regulating their everyday behavior including:
        (a) isolating the person from friends,
relatives, or other sources of support;
        (b) depriving the other person of basic
necessities;
        (c) monitoring the person's
communications, movements, daily activities and behavior, finances, economic
resources, or access to services;
        (d) frequent name-calling, degrading
and demeaning of the other person;
        (e) threatening to harm or kill the
person or a child or relative;
        (f) threatening to publish private
information or make reports of defamatory or false claims to police or
authorities;
        (g) compelling the other person by
force, threat of force, or intimidation to engage in conduct from which the
other person has a right to abstain or to abstain from conduct in which the
other party has a right to engage; or
        (h) engaging in reproductive coercion
which consists of control over the reproductive autonomy of a person through
force, threat of force, or intimidation.
SECTION 2.  Section 16-25-20(A) of the S.C. Code is amended to
read:
    (A) It is unlawful to:
       (1)
cause physical harm or injury to a person's own household member;  or
       (2)
offer or attempt to cause physical harm or injury to a person's own household
member with apparent present ability under circumstances reasonably creating
fear of imminent peril.; or
       (3) engage in coercive control over a
person's own household member.
SECTION 3.  Section 20-3-10 of the S.C. Code is amended to read:
    Section
20-3-10. No divorce from the bonds of matrimony
shall be granted except upon one or more of the following grounds, to wit:
    (1)
adultery;
    (2)
desertion for a period of one year;
    (3)
physical cruelty;
    (4)
habitual drunkenness;  provided, that this ground shall be construed to include
habitual drunkenness caused by the use of any narcotic drug;  or
    (5) domestic violence as defined by
16-25-20(A) or domestic abuse as defined by 20-4-20 against a spouse or minor
child within a twelve month period prior to filing an action under this section
or during the pendency of an action filed under this section; or
    (5)(6) on the application of either party if and when the
husband and wife have lived separate and apart without cohabitation for a
period of one year.  A plea of res judicata or of recrimination with respect to
any other provision of this section shall not be a bar to either party
obtaining a divorce on this ground.
SECTION 4.  Section 20-4-20 of the S.C. Code is amended to read:
    Section
20-4-20. As used in this chapter:
    (a)
"Abuse" means:
       (1)
physical harm, bodily injury, assault, or the threat of physical harm;
       (2)
sexual criminal offenses, as otherwise defined by statute, committed against a
family or household member by a family or household member.;
       (3) harassment or stalking as defined by
Section 16-3-1700; or
       (4) coercive control as defined by
Section 16-25-10.
    (b)
"Household member" means:
       (i)
a spouse;
       (ii)
a former spouse;
       (iii)
persons who have a child in common;
       (iv)
a male and femalepersons
who are cohabiting or formerly have cohabited.; or
       (v) persons who are presently in or have
formerly been in a dating relationship as defined by Section 16-25-10.
    (c)
"Court" means the Family Court.
    (d)
"Petitioner" means the person alleging abuse in a petition for an order of
protection.
    (e)
"Respondent" in a petition for an order of protection means the person alleged
to have abused another or a person alleged to have aided and abetted such
abuse.
    (f)
"Order of protection" means an order of protection issued to protect the
petitioner or minor household members from the abuse of another household
member where the respondent has received notice of the proceedings and has had
an opportunity to be heard.
SECTION 5.  Section 63-15-240(B) of the S.C. Code is amended to
read:
    (B) In issuing or modifying a custody
order, the court must consider the best interest of the child, which may
include, but is not limited to:
       (1)
the temperament and developmental needs of the child;
       (2)
the capacity and the disposition of the parents to understand and meet the
needs of the child;
       (3)
the preferences of each child;
       (4)
the wishes of the parents as to custody;
       (5)
the past and current interaction and relationship of the child with each
parent, the child's siblings, and any other person, including a grandparent,
who may significantly affect the best interest of the child;
       (6)
the actions of each parent to encourage the continuing parent-child
relationship between the child and the other parent, as is appropriate,
including compliance with court orders;
       (7)
the manipulation by or coercive behavior of the parents in an effort to involve
the child in the parents' dispute;
       (8)
any effort by one parent to disparage the other parent in front of the child;
       (9)
the ability of each parent to be actively involved in the life of the child;
       (10)
the child's adjustment to his or her home, school, and community environments;
       (11)
the stability of the child's existing and proposed residences;
       (12)
the mental and physical health of all individuals involved, except that a
disability of a proposed custodial parent or other party, in and of itself,
must not be determinative of custody unless the proposed custodial arrangement
is not in the best interest of the child;
       (13)
the child's cultural and spiritual background;
       (14)
whether the child or a sibling of the child has been abused or neglected;
       (15)
whether one parent has perpetrated domestic violence as
provided in Section 16-25-20(A), stalking or harassment as defined in Section
16-3-1700, or child abuse or the effect on the child of the actions of
an abuser if any domestic violence stalking or harassment has
occurred between the parents or between a parent and another individual or
between the parent and the child;
       (16)
whether one parent has relocated more than one hundred miles from the child's
primary residence in the past year, unless the parent relocated for safety
reasons;  and
       (17)
other factors as the court considers necessary.
SECTION 6.  This act takes effect upon approval
by the Governor.
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This web page was last updated on January 14, 2026 at 05:19 PM