Understanding domestic abuse and coercive control

In the first of a series of articles for Work with Offenders Anjum Mouj reviews the legislation and characterstics around coercive control behaviour

Domestic abuse and coercive control are serious issues in the UK, affecting people of all ages, genders, sexual orientations, and socioeconomic backgrounds. Understanding these issues is crucial for identifying and addressing them effectively.

Domestic abuse refers to any incident or pattern of incidents of controlling, coercive, threatening, violent or abusive behaviour between people aged 16 or over who are or have been intimate partners or family members. This can include physical, sexual, emotional, and financial abuse. It can also involve behaviour that is intended to isolate, intimidate, humiliate, or control the victim.

Coercive control is an act or a pattern of acts of assault, threats, humiliation and intimidation or other abuse that is used to harm, punish, or frighten their victim. Coercive control is a pattern of behaviour that seeks to dominate or control another person through various tactics, such as isolation, intimidation, degradation, and manipulation. This type of abuse can be difficult to identify, as it often involves subtle forms of control that are not necessarily physically violent.

It is a criminal offence in England and Wales for someone to subject someone to coercive control, it became a criminal offense in 2015 under the Serious Crime Act. This means that individuals who engage in this type of behaviour can be prosecuted and face up to five years in prison.

What is coercive control?

Coercive control is when a person with whom someone is personally connected to repeatedly behaves in a way which makes them feel controlled, dependent, isolated or scared.

The following types of behaviour are common examples of coercive control:

• isolating the victim from friends and family
• monitoring the victims activities and movements
• controlling how much money the victim can have and how they spend it
• repeatedly putting the victim down, name calling or telling them that they are worthless
• threatening to publish information about the victim or to report them to the police or the authorities
• damaging property or household goods
• threatening to harm or kill the victim or the victims child
• forcing the victim to take part in criminal activity or child abuse

An abuser will be guilty of the offence of coercive control if:

1. they are personally connected to the victim, and
2. the behaviour has had a serious effect on the victim, and
3. the abuser knew or ought to have known that their behaviour would have a serious effect on the victim.

What does serious effect mean?

Your abuser’s behaviour is considered to have a serious effect if:

• on at least two occasions the victim has feared that violence will be used against them, or
• the victim has felt serious alarm or distress and it has had a substantial effect on usual day to day activities. The behaviour has had a substantial effect if it has caused a change the way they live. For example, they may have changed the way they socialise, physical or mental health may have deteriorated, a change in the way the way household chores are done or how care for your children is done. If a victim has changed the way they live in order to keep themselves or their children safe from harm, it is possible that the behaviour that is being experienced is coercive control.

Only someone who is personally connected to the victim can commit an offence of coercive control. Personally connected means if the victim is in an intimate personal relationship with them, for example if they are a partner, spouse, or someone who they have a romantic or sexual relationship with, this includes same-sex relationships. If the victim is no longer in an intimate relationship with the abuser, but they still live together, then they are still personally connected to them, and the offence of coercive control may apply.

If he or she is a family member who you live with this also determines personally connected to the abuser. A family member could be anyone related or have a child with, or any person who the victim has ever entered or agreed to enter a marriage or civil partnership with. A family member can also be a person who a spouse is related to and that they live with, for example, a partner’s parents who live in the same household.

Coercive control can involve a range of criminal offences including assault, rape, threats to kill, burglary and criminal damage. Coercive control is a criminal offence even if the victim  has not experienced any physical violence or damage to their property.

It is also important to recognise that domestic abuse and coercive control are never the victim's fault, and that it is the responsibility of the abuser to seek help and change their behaviour.

Victims of coercive control may experience a range of physical, emotional, and psychological effects, including anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, and a sense of isolation. It can be difficult for victims to recognise and report coercive control, as it often takes place over a long period of time and can be disguised as caring or protective behaviour.

There are many organisations in the UK that provide support and advice for victims of domestic abuse, including the National Domestic Abuse Helpline Women's Aid, Refuge and the Men’s Advice Line..

Anjum Mouj is a skilled consultant and trainer. Between 1987 and 2000 she worked for a number of voluntary sector groups including the London Black Women’s Project, a national Domestic and Sexual Abuse project that supports women and girls fleeing violence and abuse, where she managed major government funded projects. She currently works with the NSPCC, the Premier League and EW Consultancy to develop and deliver bespoke courses as a lead trainer, focusing particularly on unconscious bias, Domestic Abuse safeguarding adults and children  and child protection, including working with trauma and chronic post-traumatic stress.  Anjum is on the Board of Trustees for Queer Britain, Imaan Muslim LGBTQi Group and a non-executive Director of Red Snapper Group.