What is coercive control and what we need to do...

I was honoured to appear before the Parliament of NSW Joint Select Committee in the hearing on coercive control this week. Domestic Violence NSW was the first organisation to give evidence to the inquiry.

What is coercive control?

It can cause an incredible amount of harm, even if it may not be initially obvious. Coercive control is a dangerous form of domestic abuse: patterns can be perpetrated over an extensive period of time and cause immense fear; exert power and control; cause isolation, trauma, intimidation and destruction to both primary victims, as well as their children and families.

Evan Stark describes coercive controlling violence as, ‘a strategic course of oppressive behaviour designed to secure and expand gender based privilege by depriving women of their rights and liberties and establishing a regime of domination in personal life’ (Stark, 2012). 

Coercive control is conceptualised as a ‘liberty crime’ (Stark, 2007), having the intentional effect of, ‘stripping away a victim’s sense of self and …. violating their human rights’ (Brennan, et al., 2019).

It is only through recognising the signs of coercive control can we understand the layers of domestic and family violence.

Where do we begin?

Education. Funding. More education.

For Domestic Violence NSW, the issue to be debated is not whether to criminalise coercive control, but how and where to criminalise it.

It is paramount that anything that might sound good in theory is translated safely into practice.

In preparation for the coercive control hearing, we attended a wide range of forums and roundtables on the issue at a local, national and international level, surveyed our 85+ members, and listened the to the stories of 178 people with lived expertise.

Our recommendations:

1. Increase funding to the specialist Domestic and Family Violence sector to ensure that people impacted by domestic and family violence receive effective specialist support (also including those who do not choose to seek redress via the criminal justice system – noting 1 in 10 victim-survivors choose not to engage with the criminal justice system).
2. Prioritise the funding of Domestic and Family Violence primary prevention and early intervention programs, services and education campaigns to stop the violence before it starts, and to change the culture of gendered violence in NSW.
3. Place an immediate priority on working collaboratively with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and organisations in addressing the devastating impact of Domestic and Family Violence on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in NSW. Best practice responses to coercive control must reflect ownership BY Aboriginal people FOR Aboriginal people.
4. Substantially increase investment in the ongoing education and training of police and the judiciary in how to effectively and appropriately police and prosecute Domestic and Family Violence crimes, including non-physical abuse. The implementation of current legislation is clearly an issue in NSW. There are significant concerns about the introduction of a new offence without addressing this issue.
5. Prioritise a thorough consultation process with the specialist Domestic and Family Violence sector, leaders and leading organisations representing marginalised groups and people with lived expertise, prior to adding a separate offence of coercive control to the criminal act. We acknowledge this Inquiry as an important first step, however we believe that more consultation is necessary to successfully implement the criminalisation of such a nuanced offence.
6. Within our submission we recommend amending the civil protection order legislation in the short term with a clear definition that includes coercive control and some of the more common elements of coercive control such as financial abuse. We believe this will be more swiftly enacted and allow victim-survivors to access redress and protection in the short-term, whilst consultation continues
7. Finally, we recommend that the NSW government invest in a cohesive, whole-of-system response to Domestic and Family Violence.

Continuing the conversation has never been more important. While the inquiry is a progressive first step, there is a long way to go to put an end to this form of gendered violence, and we need to make sure it’s done safely.