what are the legal issues surrounding taping someone without their knowledge?

[stitch]

i want to record dh having a 'go' at me. all verbal abuse, not physical. but someone says i should be careful. what are the issues here
tia

are you recording it to play it back to him? Hopefully shock him into changing? Sounds like a good plan to me. I don't really think anything would happen to you! What's he going to do? Go to the police and say "I wish to make a complaint, my wife recorded me verbally abusing her, and played it back to me so I could see how bad I sound. I wish to press charges."

To what end? It's inadmissible in court unless he has given permission. Are you planning to shame him - because if he's insensitive enough to verbally beat you up, he may not actually care all that much.

your dh is so bonkers when going off on one you want to record him and you are worried about the legality of it?

I wouldn't even think of it, would just do it, if necessary.

However that doesn't answer your op, sorry.

yes hecate. that is the idea.
at most, i would threaten to play it to my parents, or his mom.

Be careful that the verbal doesn't become physical.

Threats rarely work. You will just alienate yourself and put his mum in an invidious position. What can she say 'yes he's a git, but you married him'?

Or will she say 'god you must have provoked him......fancy recording him...breach of trust blah blah blah....' Remember he learned this behaviour from someone and my guess it was acceptable in his family.

Spend your money on some new locks if you don't think the relationship is saveable, or go to Relate. Shock tactics rarely work on angry people, they are just not focused enough.

stitch, I have recorded my ex in the past being abusive on the telephone.

My motive was, that I wanted to have evidence to convince people that he was describing how he would kill me, and other such stuff. Even though it wasnt admissible in court, I want to have teh evidence to convince people privately to help me if I need it.
I wouldnt bother using it to threaten him, as he would probably just get angry and it wouldnt help.

A benefit that I hadn't thought of, but which turned out to be the most significant one in the end, was that the children could replay the conversations where he shouted at them. They had been too scared to put the phone down, in case he came to get them. We recorded teh conversations, and ex h sounded pretty silly as we played them back. children were able to hear him ranting, without being so involved, or scared. they definitely felt empowered by this, and we were able to move on to me disconnecting the phone without them thinking the world was going to end.