July 22, 2024 • 8 mins
In this short episode, we give a rundown of the new coercive control criminal offence and why it's important for all community workers to understand this new law. Subscribe to our Law for Community Workers Alert and follow this podcast to be the first to know about upcoming training and information on coercive control.
How can I find out more about coercive control?
- Watch our webinar for community workers about coercive control
- Visit the NSW Government website: www.nsw.gov.au/coercivecontrol
- Watch this webinar for domestic and family violence specialist workers: Webinar - Coercive control: what do domestic and family violence specialist workers need to know?
- Complete Legal Aid NSW's eLearning course on the fundamentals of coercive control and the new legislation. It has been developed for lawyers and domestic and family violence specialist workers. You may find some parts of the course more relevant to your work than others, and you can complete whichever parts of the course you choose. To access and register for the course through our Learning Management System (LMS) visit 2024 eLearning - Introduction to coercive control. If you do not have a log in, please register for our Learning Management System.
- Read Legal Aid NSW's information page about coercive control
- Listen to Legal Aid NSW Criminal Law Division's podcast about coercive control
- CDPVA amendments tip sheet for DFV specialist workers (PDF, 156 kb)
- The new coercive control offence tip sheet for DFV specialist workers (PDF, 191 kb)
- What is coercive control?
- Criminalisation of Coercive Control (Issues paper, Australian Women Against Violence Alliance)
View the transcript for this episode. If you are affected by the themes in this episode, help is available. Contact 1800 Respect on 1800respect.org.au
Disclaimer: This podcast is a general guide to the law. You should not rely on it as legal advice. We recommend that you talk to a lawyer about any particular situation. The information is correct at the time of publishing but it may change. For more information, start with our team at LawAccess NSW via webchat at
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Yasmine (00:00):
This podcast was produced on Gadigal country. We
pay our respects to Elders pastand present and acknowledge
Aboriginal and Torres StraitIslander peoples as the first
educators, storytellers andcreators.
Unknown (00:15):
When they make all the decisions, and they do anything
to keep you even heard the onesyou love. It's not love. It's
coercive control.
Yasmine (00:37):
Have you seen or heard that ad? It's part of a new
campaign by the New South WalesGovernment to raise public
awareness and understanding ofcoercive control. Using the
tagline "it's not love, it'scoercive control." The ads
feature different patterns ofbehavior, including financial
abuse, threats against pets orloved ones, tracking someone's
(00:58):
movements and isolation fromfriends and family. Hi, my name
is Yasmine and this is Law forCommunity Workers. In this
special episode, we'respotlighting coercive control,
and why it's important for allcommunity workers to understand
this new change in criminal law.I'll also share where you can
find more information, trainingand resources to help you
(01:21):
support the people you workwith. The themes in this episode
may be distressing for somelisteners. If you need support
at any time help is available,contact 1800 respect on
1-800-737-7320 or via 1800respect.org.au
(01:47):
As of the first of July 2024,coercive control is a criminal
offence in New South Wales.Government resources say that
the offence is when a personuses abusive behavior towards a
current or former intimatepartner with the intention to
coerce or control them. It isrepeated patterns of physical or
(02:08):
non physical abuse used to hurt,scare, intimidate, threaten or
control someone. Traditionally,criminal law surrounding
domestic violence has beenunderstood to be an incident or
series of incidents of physicalviolence. But researchers have
said for decades that abuse caninvolve far more than acts of
(02:30):
physical violence. Between 2000and 2018, the New South Wales
Domestic Violence Death Reviewteam found that in 97% of
intimate partner domesticviolence homicide cases, the
victim had experienced coerciveand controlling behaviors before
being killed. So where did thisterm coercive control come from?
(02:53):
Whilst the language of coercivecontrol may be new to a lot of
people, its principles andbehavior certainly aren't. The
term was popularized bysociologists Evan Stark, who
labeled coercive control as apattern of behavior which seeks
to take away from the victim'sliberty or freedom to strip away
(03:14):
their sense of self, that it'snot primarily a crime of
violence. It's first andforemost a liberty crime. So
what are the red flag behaviorsunder these new laws was
coercive control is not limitedto a list of specific acts.
People who have experiencedcoercive control say that these
behaviors can involve physicalabuse, sexual violence and
(03:37):
coercion, monitoring, stalkingand surveillance, regulation and
micromanagement for example,being told how to dress
restrictions on freedom andindependence, verbal abuse,
emotional and psychologicalabuse, for example, gaslighting,
cultural, spiritual andreligious abuse, reproductive
(04:01):
coercion and abuse, animalabuse, and threats of self harm
and suicide. It's important tonote that behaviors in every
situation can look reallydifferent. Victim/survivors
often use the analogy of aspider web - that to someone
experiencing coercive control,it feels like they are tied to
the abuser in a trap. There canbe so many parts that make up
(04:24):
the pattern of the web, and it'ssometimes hard for themselves
and others to see.
So why is it important forcommunity workers to understand
coercive control? SupportWorkers, health care
professionals and othercommunity workers are often the
first point of contact forpeople experiencing coercive
(04:47):
control. Like with other issues,you may also be working with a
client on a particular problem,but as you are spending more
time with them, you startspotting red flags of other
underlying issues. Communityworkers play a key role in
assisting with referrals andgetting people to the help they
need. And we know that the legalsphere isn't the only place to
(05:08):
address and prevent domesticabuse and violence. Community
Services play a key role intraining, education and
engagement to change behaviorand prevent abuse. As stated in
the Australian Women AgainstViolence Alliance's Issues Paper
on the criminalization ofcoercive control - "with or
without criminalization, a wholesystem approach is required to
(05:31):
address family and domesticviolence. Adequate and sustained
funding and resourcing is neededto ensure training for staff and
engagement with the community atlarge on what constitutes
violence and the laws andservices to support victims
survivors." Now, the governmentacknowledges that coercive
(05:51):
control can happen in a lot ofother types of relationships.
But this new law only applies tocurrent and former intimate
partner relationships. And theyhave made this distinction
because coercive control hasbeen so strongly linked to
intimate partner homicide. TheNew South Wales Government has
said that in 2026, they willstart reviewing the legislation
(06:14):
to consider whether it should beexpanded to criminalize coercive
control in other types ofrelationships. So how can you
find out more about these laws,download resources and attend
training? The New South WalesGovernment has created a web
page with information, videos,translated resources, social
media tiles, and more all aboutcoercive control. You can find
(06:37):
it atwww.nsw.gov.au/coercivecontrol.
Legal Aid New South Wales alsohas a coercive control training
package that includes an ELearning Module, tip sheets and
a webinar. It's been madespecifically for domestic and
family violence specialistsworkers, but any community
(06:58):
worker is able to access theresources and use what is
relevant to them. You can findthese resources on the community
workers page on the Legal AidNew South Wales website. We'll
put the link to that and more inthe show notes for this episode.
That's all for now. Stay tunedto this podcast, our webinars
and email alerts for moreinformation, training and
(07:21):
resources about coercive controlcoming soon. I'll leave you with
the audio from a video animationfrom the New South Wales
government's coercive controlwebpage about how to spot the
signs of coercive control. Don'tforget to check the show notes
for a link to that webpage andmore till next time.
Unknown (07:43):
It can be hard to tell if someone you know is
experiencing coercive control.They might not tell you what's
happening, because they mightfeel scared or ashamed. Or they
might not realize that it'sabuse. But coercive control is
dangerous. So it's important toknow the signs. If a person is
experiencing coercive control,they might stop spending as much
(08:04):
time with their friends andfamily because the abusive
partner is trying to isolatethem. They might seem anxious,
afraid or withdrawn, especiallyaround their partner. You might
notice they have to ask theirpartner for permission before
making small decisions orspending any money. When they're
together. You might notice theirpartner often speaks for them or
(08:25):
says things to shame them,embarrass them or put them down.
If you're worried that someoneyou know is experiencing
coercive control, there's helpavailable contact one 1800
respect to find out how you canhelp
This podcast was produced on Gadigal country. We
pay our respects to Elders pastand present and acknowledge
Aboriginal and Torres StraitIslander peoples as the first
educators, storytellers andcreators.
Unknown (00:15):
When they make all the decisions, and they do anything
to keep you even heard the onesyou love. It's not love. It's
coercive control.
Yasmine (00:37):
Have you seen or heard that ad? It's part of a new
campaign by the New South WalesGovernment to raise public
awareness and understanding ofcoercive control. Using the
tagline "it's not love, it'scoercive control." The ads
feature different patterns ofbehavior, including financial
abuse, threats against pets orloved ones, tracking someone's
(00:58):
movements and isolation fromfriends and family. Hi, my name
is Yasmine and this is Law forCommunity Workers. In this
special episode, we'respotlighting coercive control,
and why it's important for allcommunity workers to understand
this new change in criminal law.I'll also share where you can
find more information, trainingand resources to help you
(01:21):
support the people you workwith. The themes in this episode
may be distressing for somelisteners. If you need support
at any time help is available,contact 1800 respect on
1-800-737-7320 or via 1800respect.org.au
(01:47):
As of the first of July 2024,coercive control is a criminal
offence in New South Wales.Government resources say that
the offence is when a personuses abusive behavior towards a
current or former intimatepartner with the intention to
coerce or control them. It isrepeated patterns of physical or
(02:08):
non physical abuse used to hurt,scare, intimidate, threaten or
control someone. Traditionally,criminal law surrounding
domestic violence has beenunderstood to be an incident or
series of incidents of physicalviolence. But researchers have
said for decades that abuse caninvolve far more than acts of
(02:30):
physical violence. Between 2000and 2018, the New South Wales
Domestic Violence Death Reviewteam found that in 97% of
intimate partner domesticviolence homicide cases, the
victim had experienced coerciveand controlling behaviors before
being killed. So where did thisterm coercive control come from?
(02:53):
Whilst the language of coercivecontrol may be new to a lot of
people, its principles andbehavior certainly aren't. The
term was popularized bysociologists Evan Stark, who
labeled coercive control as apattern of behavior which seeks
to take away from the victim'sliberty or freedom to strip away
(03:14):
their sense of self, that it'snot primarily a crime of
violence. It's first andforemost a liberty crime. So
what are the red flag behaviorsunder these new laws was
coercive control is not limitedto a list of specific acts.
People who have experiencedcoercive control say that these
behaviors can involve physicalabuse, sexual violence and
(03:37):
coercion, monitoring, stalkingand surveillance, regulation and
micromanagement for example,being told how to dress
restrictions on freedom andindependence, verbal abuse,
emotional and psychologicalabuse, for example, gaslighting,
cultural, spiritual andreligious abuse, reproductive
(04:01):
coercion and abuse, animalabuse, and threats of self harm
and suicide. It's important tonote that behaviors in every
situation can look reallydifferent. Victim/survivors
often use the analogy of aspider web - that to someone
experiencing coercive control,it feels like they are tied to
the abuser in a trap. There canbe so many parts that make up
(04:24):
the pattern of the web, and it'ssometimes hard for themselves
and others to see.
So why is it important forcommunity workers to understand
coercive control? SupportWorkers, health care
professionals and othercommunity workers are often the
first point of contact forpeople experiencing coercive
(04:47):
control. Like with other issues,you may also be working with a
client on a particular problem,but as you are spending more
time with them, you startspotting red flags of other
underlying issues. Communityworkers play a key role in
assisting with referrals andgetting people to the help they
need. And we know that the legalsphere isn't the only place to
(05:08):
address and prevent domesticabuse and violence. Community
Services play a key role intraining, education and
engagement to change behaviorand prevent abuse. As stated in
the Australian Women AgainstViolence Alliance's Issues Paper
on the criminalization ofcoercive control - "with or
without criminalization, a wholesystem approach is required to
(05:31):
address family and domesticviolence. Adequate and sustained
funding and resourcing is neededto ensure training for staff and
engagement with the community atlarge on what constitutes
violence and the laws andservices to support victims
survivors." Now, the governmentacknowledges that coercive
(05:51):
control can happen in a lot ofother types of relationships.
But this new law only applies tocurrent and former intimate
partner relationships. And theyhave made this distinction
because coercive control hasbeen so strongly linked to
intimate partner homicide. TheNew South Wales Government has
said that in 2026, they willstart reviewing the legislation
(06:14):
to consider whether it should beexpanded to criminalize coercive
control in other types ofrelationships. So how can you
find out more about these laws,download resources and attend
training? The New South WalesGovernment has created a web
page with information, videos,translated resources, social
media tiles, and more all aboutcoercive control. You can find
(06:37):
it atwww.nsw.gov.au/coercivecontrol.
Legal Aid New South Wales alsohas a coercive control training
package that includes an ELearning Module, tip sheets and
a webinar. It's been madespecifically for domestic and
family violence specialistsworkers, but any community
(06:58):
worker is able to access theresources and use what is
relevant to them. You can findthese resources on the community
workers page on the Legal AidNew South Wales website. We'll
put the link to that and more inthe show notes for this episode.
That's all for now. Stay tunedto this podcast, our webinars
and email alerts for moreinformation, training and
(07:21):
resources about coercive controlcoming soon. I'll leave you with
the audio from a video animationfrom the New South Wales
government's coercive controlwebpage about how to spot the
signs of coercive control. Don'tforget to check the show notes
for a link to that webpage andmore till next time.
Unknown (07:43):
It can be hard to tell if someone you know is
experiencing coercive control.They might not tell you what's
happening, because they mightfeel scared or ashamed. Or they
might not realize that it'sabuse. But coercive control is
dangerous. So it's important toknow the signs. If a person is
experiencing coercive control,they might stop spending as much
(08:04):
time with their friends andfamily because the abusive
partner is trying to isolatethem. They might seem anxious,
afraid or withdrawn, especiallyaround their partner. You might
notice they have to ask theirpartner for permission before
making small decisions orspending any money. When they're
together. You might notice theirpartner often speaks for them or
(08:25):
says things to shame them,embarrass them or put them down.
If you're worried that someoneyou know is experiencing
coercive control, there's helpavailable contact one 1800
respect to find out how you canhelp
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