From 1st July 2024, coercive control has become a criminal offence in NSW. This means that when a person uses abusive behaviour towards a current or former intimate partner with the intention to coerce or control them, they are liable for prosecution. The criminal offence will capture repeated patterns of physical or non-physical abuse used to hurt, scare, intimidate, threaten or control someone. The law will only apply to abusive behaviour that happens after the law starts; it is not retrospective.
The NSW Domestic Violence Death Review Team found that in a horrifying 97% of intimate partner domestic violence homicide cases, the victim had experienced coercive controlling behaviours before being killed. Source: Better protection for victim survivors of domestic and family violence from today | NSW Government
Examples of coercive control might include:
- Emotional abuse – constant put downs, shaming or humiliating; denying changing or manipulating the truth to make the other person question their memories; using grand gestures to manipulate or trap the other person
- Violence and intimidation – using violence or the threat of violence to hurt, control or intimidate someone so that they feel afraid
- Making threats – threatening someone to make them behave in a certain way e.g., threatening self-harm if you don’t comply; threatening to make false reports to services; using someone’s visa or immigration status to make them feel afraid; threatening to damage someone’s reputation
- Limiting freedom or controlling choices – controlling someone’s day-to-day choices or doing things to take away their freedom and independence e.g., rules about what a person can eat or wear; denying a person access to basic needs; preventing a person from leaving the house or going out alone
To learn more, click on this link to a video that explains coercive control.
At Open Support, coercive control forms a part of the story of abuse for many of our clients. Through intensive case management and listening to their stories, we can slowly educate clients on what abuse is, including coercive control and give them the space and knowledge to heal and regain the confidence that is often lost with years of control. Our goal is that we can support our clients into a future filled with hope, independence and empowerment.
This article has been adapted from an article on NSW Government website.
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