What is Coercive Control?
Photo by Nadine Shaabana on Unsplash
The term Coercive control has increasingly been in the media in recent months as policymakers respond to increasing calls to make this phenomenon illegal across Australia (1). Much of this push emerges from increased awareness and understanding of how family violence is experienced by partners of abusers following many years of public debate led by dedicated campaigners and support organisations, for example the 2015 Australian of the year, Rosie Batty (2), and 1800 Respect (3).
Coercive control can be considered a type of family violence that is often, although not always, experienced in intimate partner relationships. It can be harder to recognise than other forms of family violence and typically consists of actions that are intended to exercise power and control over the recipient. Sometimes these actions are so subtle that people can live in such a relationship for considerable lengths of time without realising the extent of the control they are experiencing.
Here are some of the ways in which coercive control might show up in a relationship:
- Financial Control: limiting access to money which can include having to make requests to the abuser for resources; having no access to financial information; having an “allowance” or strict limits on expenditure. This can leave the affected person with limited resources to help them to leave the situation.
- Social Control / Jealousy: Isolating from access to friends and family by pressuring or threatening them to avoid social contact or situations where the affected person might talk with others about their situation. This can include accusations of having affairs or preferring the company of others to the abuser.
- Degradation / Controlling the body: Using humiliating language and criticism to erode the affected person’s self-esteem and increase reliance on the abuser. This might also emerge as putting the affected person down in front of others, passing it off as “a joke” if challenged. It can also present as pressuring the affected person to look or dress a certain way.
- Monitoring: This can include things like interrogation on returning home about where they have been as well as more sophisticated forms of technology facilitated stalking and abuse. This can include monitoring social media, installing monitoring software on phones, and hacking into emails. More information on e-safety can be found at: the eSafety Commissioner website where you can access a helpful e-safety check quiz to determine your personal level of risk of being monitored without your knowledge (4).
- Control of religion / Cultural beliefs – This can take the form of restricting the affected person’s freedom to pursue their religious or cultural beliefs and practices or could be the imposition of religious or cultural expectations which are unwanted or not shared.
This brief outline highlights just some of the ways in which coercive control can be experienced as an attack on autonomy, equality, and freedoms. However, this form of abusive and controlling behaviour can change over time and be influenced by events such as pregnancy and the birth of children, family problems, and financial stress, making patterns even more difficult to identify.
Labels can be highly intimidating, and it can be difficult to recognise patterns of coercive control that may have existed over long periods of time and to consider yourself as a victim or your partner as a perpetrator. However, a 2020 survey of Australian women conducted by the Australian Institute for Criminology (5) found that coercive control is “a very common feature of women who experience any form of violence or abuse within their relationships”.
If you are a professional working in, or seeking to work in this area, or are otherwise interested in learning more, this webinar hosted by the Australian Institute of Family Studies in January 2022 will expand on some of the ideas presented here: Power: understanding patterns of coercive control.
If you feel that you are currently experiencing coercive control in your life, help is available.
If you need support right now
If you are in immediate danger, call 000.
1800RESPECT is available 24 hours a day on 1800 737 732 for anyone affected by domestic, family or sexual violence, and can tell you about support services in your local area. For 24-hour crisis support, call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or text 0477 13 11 14. More options are on our resources page.
If you are worried that someone may be monitoring your devices, the eSafety technology check-up can help you assess your risk. Consider using a device the other person cannot access.
Our Blog Author
This post was written by Ian Clark, Senior Clinical Psychologist at Your Mind Matters. Ian works with adolescents and adults presenting with mood disorders, anxiety, and stress related to school or work, and has years of experience supporting victims of domestic violence. Meet our team.