Coercive Control
Coercive control is a pattern of behaviours used by abusers to control, intimidate and sometimes humiliate others. Partners, family members and friends can be at the mercy of coercive control. These patterns of behaviour, which are not isolated events, often include some form of emotional, financial, psychological or physical elements used to belittle their victims, designed to isolate and take away the sense of self and confidence. With coercive control being continuous behaviours, it creates invisible chains where the victims do not realise until sometimes too late. It is now recognised as a criminal offence in many countries, including the UK, under the Serious Crime Act 2015.
Signs of Coercive Control
Often, the patterns displayed in coercive control are subtle, making it harder to spot and often escalating over time. For victims, they often feel shame and embarrassment for not noticing these things. However, these behaviours create invisible chains that lead victims to feel a constant sense of fear. It is purposely done to make the victim dependent on the abuser by cutting off support from family and friends, exploiting their victim’s finances and controlling their actions.
Who Can Experience Coercive Control?
​Anyone can experience coercive control; people with vulnerabilities are at a higher risk. Coercive control can only be committed by someone who has a personal connection to you, such as if you are or have been in a romantic or intimate relationship with them. You’re also personally connected if you both have a parental relationship to the same child. A recent law from 5 April 2023 removed the requirement that the suspect and victim have to live together. However, coercive behaviours that occurred before this date are the type of relationships that are listed above, won’t be viewed as coercive control but may be considered as another offence.
Breaking Free from Coercive Control
If you or someone you know is experiencing coercive control, there is support available to assist you. Coercive control is a crime in the UK under the Serious Crime Act 2015. Contact your local police, 101 or 999, depending on the severity. If you need mental health support, contact your GP to arrange counselling. The Available Services has a list of support services.
What Can Coercive Control Look Like?
Isolation From Friends and Family
In order to make the victim dependent upon them, the abuser will quickly try and isolate them from friends and family. Achieved through manipulation, victims often don’t notice this happening until it’s too late.
Reactive
Abuse
Also known as reactive defense, this is when the victim finally snaps after enduring their partner's abuse for a long period of time. It can look like shouting, name-calling, throwing things and more. The abuser will then use this to paint themselves as the victim, or that the victim is unstable. This type of behaviour is likely to be very out-of-character for the victim and, most importantly, is a trauma response, not the victim being abusive.
Making Threats Or Intimidation
This can often show up as off-handed comments from the abuser, or more overtly in the form of direct threats. A tactic that operates off of fear, abusers will use this to gain power over their victim.
Taking Control Over Parts Of Everyday Life
This could look like the abuser saying that the victim can’t wear a particular outfit, or that they’re not allowed to pay the bills. This ties in with most other forms of abuse as the abuser is trying to get complete control over the victim. Just like isolation, this can be very difficult to spot as it’s a slow and subtle process.
Humiliation, Degregadtion or Dehumanising
Going hand-in-hand with Emotional Abuse, this is designed to negatively impact the victim's self-esteem and eventually making them more compliant and easier to control.
Monitoring How You Spend Your Time
Abusers will often ask seemingly innocent questions about what the victim is doing. The abuser's goal is to further isolate the victim and gain power over them. This is often the predecessor to isolation and it typically also includes monitoring what the victim does online. See our Digital Abuse page for more details.