27 Jun 2024Coercive control is a frequently hidden form of domestic abuse that includes physical, sexual, psychological, emotional and financial abuse of one individual by another.
Figures show coercive control a significant problem
The Bureau of Statistics figures on domestic abuse are shocking. One in four women and one in eight men have experienced domestic violence by an intimate partner or family member since the age of fifteen.
Every nine days a female is murdered by a current or former partner. Every 29 days a man is killed by someone close to him. One in six women, and one in nine men, experienced childhood abuse. (Please see Personal Safety, Australia, ABS, 15 March 2023.)
The law is clear – these are all crimes punishable with prison sentences. But there is another form of domestic abuse that does not necessarily leave bruises or broken bones – coercive control. (Please see my earlier article Domestic coercive control could soon be criminal in Australia.)
The ABS reports 23 per cent of women, a total 2.3 million, and 14 per cent of men have experienced emotional abuse by a partner – many more than physical violence. Almost as many suffered economic abuse from partners as those who suffered physical or sexual abuse.
Coercive control laws now in force in NSW
From July 2024 new criminal laws covering coercive control in intimate partner relationships come into force in NSW.
For the first time in Australia coercive control will be defined in law. The NSW Crimes Legislation Amendment (Coercive Control) Act 2022 was passed in November and outlaws coercive control in previous and current relationships. The maximum penalty is seven years in jail.
This type of offence is characterised by “abusive behaviour that coerces or controls” and involves continuously hurting, frightening, or isolating another person with the intention of controlling them.
It encompasses physical, sexual, psychological, emotional and financial abuse, such as monitoring and isolating from other people, “gaslighting”, and controlling where a person goes and who they can meet.
Coercive control often precursor to murder
These dangerous and freedom-inhibiting behaviours to coerce or control a person chip away at their sense of identity and independence. Coercive control is often a precursor to homicide.
Research found about 97 per cent of intimate partner homicides were preceded by coercive control. (Please see Coercive control, NSW Government.) Hopefully this new law can help head off such events.
Evaluating impact of new coercive control laws
It will be some time before the courts come to terms with the nuances of the new Act’s definitions of abusive behaviour and when such behaviour amounts to the offence of coercive control. Many people whose actions and behaviour would previously not have come to the attention of the law could now face being charged with offences.
The effectiveness of the new law will be reviewed within six months. NSW is the first state to make coercive control a crime and other Australian governments will be watching to see if it is an effective weapon against the horror of domestic violence.
Let us hope the upcoming implementation of the new law governing coercive control will create real change that uncovers offenders.
