Content warning: this article discusses abuse and violence and may be distressing to some readers.
New South Wales is set to outlaw coercive control, making the state one of the first in Australia to make the abusive act a stand-alone offence.
Coercive control is a pattern of abuse that can have a detrimental effect on the independence and autonomy of an individual. It can include sexual, psychological, or financial abuse, per New South Wales’ Mental Health and Women Minister Bronnie Taylor.
The state’s Attorney General Mark Speakman announced on Saturday, December 18 that the NSW government had indicated its support in 17 of 23 recommendations that came from an inquiry on coercive control in domestic relationships across the state.
They included having a clear and accessible definition of domestic violence (including coercive and controlling behaviour), removing specific intent from the stalking and intimidation offence and making coercive and controlling behaviour an aggravating factor in sentencing.
“No person deserves to live in fear, and it is part of our responsibilities in government to uphold the safety and human dignity of all of our citizens,” Speakman said in a statement.
The new law and pending changes to current legislation will play a role in ensuring the safety of victims and survivors across the state, especially now that this form of abuse is now recognised as a red flag for intimate partner homicide.
Per Speakman, this is “typically preceded by coercive control often without any recorded physical violence.”
Alarmingly, the NSW Coroner’s most recent report revealed that many domestic homicide cases were not preceded by physical violence, with some offenders refraining from this in order to avoid police intervention.
Per the report, perpetrators instead used “extreme manipulation and controlling behaviours to attempt to control and limit their victim’s freedom and rights”.
In February, marie claire launched a campaign to criminalise the act, speaking to nine brave women who shared their insights into this insidious behaviour. You can read their statements here.
What exactly is coercive control?
Coercive control is a “malign pattern of domination” that can include various forms of abuse, including “emotional abuse, historical abuse, isolation, sexual coercion, financial abuse, cyber-stalking, and other distal forms of intimidation,” sociologist Professor Evan Stark from Rutgers University explained.
Cases are often between intimate partners, and these behaviours can strip the other person of their autonomy and sense of self worth.
Currently, every state and territory in Australia is considering or in the process of legislating against the act of coercive control. Some already recognise this under civil law, including Tasmania—however a report by Deakin University in 2017 revealed offences pertaining to this matter have rarely ended in prosecution.
With this in mind, criminalising the act couldn’t be more important.
Hannah Clarke’s story
In February, marie claire Australia launched a campaign to criminalise the act, speaking to nine women about the importance of legislating coercive control.
One of those women was the mother of Hannah Clarke, who along with her three children was murdered by her ex-partner in 2020.
Sue Clarke told marie claire Australia that Hannah didn’t believe she was in an abusive relationship because her husband wasn’t physically violent.
“She would say, ‘But he’s never hit me.’ He would say the same thing to us: ‘I’ve never hit her.’ In both their heads, that was the definition of domestic abuse,” Sue explained.
But the red flag—coercive control—was there.
“In the beginning, it was only little things, but then gradually [her husband] Rowan’s controlling behaviour really started to escalate. Hannah was ready to leave him after Laianah was born, but then she fell pregnant with Trey, and Rowan convinced her she would be a bad mother if she left,” Sue added.
“He would constantly go through her phone, tracking where she was going, controlling everything. She wasn’t allowed to have a Facebook page or wear shorts to the gym. He would threaten to kill himself, not speak to her for days, and then twist it around and try to make her feel guilty.”
Sue has worked tirelessly to better education Australians on coercive control and to spark change in legislation in order to criminalise it.
She does this so others can “identify if it is happening to them,” she explained.
“We didn’t know. If we did, maybe we could have saved her and the children. That’s why we set up Small Steps 4 Hannah. We want to do anything we can to prevent other people going through the same pain.”
If you or someone you know is experiencing family, domestic or sexual violence, contact Full Stop Australia here.
