What is coercive control and how you can spot the signs?

Domestic abuse doesn’t always mean physical abuse. Domestic abuse can take shape in many forms with members of our communities becoming victims of coercive control without even realising it is happening to them.

Perpetrators of coercive control trap their partner in the relationship using various means such as emotional abuse, psychological abuse, financial abuse and violence.

The abuse usually forms a wider a pattern of behaviour with the perpetrator stripping their loved one of their identity; isolating and depriving them to the point they completely depend on them in every element of their life over a period of time. 

Victims are often left feeling scared, making the norms of everyday life feeling like the most monumental of challenges.

Talking through the stages of Coercive Control from their Safeguarding Governance Unit Inspector Becky Holmes, read more.