What is Coercive Control?
The primary outcome of coercive control is a condition of entrapment that can be hostage-like in the harms it inflicts on dignity, liberty, autonomy and personhood as well as to physical and psychological integrity.
— Evan Stark, PhD
Exactly what is Coercive Control?
Coercive control is a habit of controlling behaviors over time more similar to stalking. Although psychological abuse does not regularly lead to physical violence, it is almost constantly preceded and accompanied by psychological abuse. Coercive control signifies the invisible psychological abuses victims suffer from in the the majority of damaging relationships. The intention of coercive control is subjugation of the victim and total control by the abuser. Good examples of coercive controlling behaviors might include:
The long term effects of this sort of abuse go further than individual episodes of interpersonal violence. Coercive and controlling abuse effects a survivor's sense of security, identity, autonomy and his or her attachments to others. With no understanding this dynamic and its full impact, victims who have survived this specific type of trauma continue to be detached by the complexness of their experiences and their needs for healing are misinterpreted and unmet.
This perspective is globally pervasive and dangerous on multiple levels. When victims escape their terror, they experience further psychological isolation, where the true harm of their experience is not recognized and society, as a whole, is left unprotected from predatory and authoritarian control.
The “primary consequence of coercive control is a condition of entrapment that can be hostage-like in the harms it inflicts on self-esteem, freedom, independence and person hood as well as to physical and psychological integrity”. Affected individuals may fear ‘staying’ in the relationship but feel not able to leave due to the entrapment that they encounter, even when they report no physical violence.
Domestic and family violence is a persistent and frequently lethal problem that concerns society at every level. Violence in families is often undetectable from view and affects its victims physically, emotionally, spiritually and financially. It threatens the stableness of the family and adversely impacts on all family members, particularly the children who learn from it that violence is an appropriate way to deal with stress or issues or to gain control over another person. It infringes our communities’ safety, health, welfare, and economies by emptying billions yearly in social costs such as medical costs, psychological problems, lost productivity and intergenerational violence.
In the case of S v Engelbrecht 2005 (2) SACR 41 (W), Satchwell J considered the complexities of domestic violence as follows and referred to Coercive Control:
"I agree with the argument that the wide definition of 'domestic violence' in the DVA is unequivocal recognition by the Legislature of the complexities of domestic violence and the multitude of manifestations thereof. It must be accepted that domestic violence, in all manifestations of abuse, is intended to and may establish a pattern of coercive control over the abused woman, such control being exerted both during the instances of active or passive abuse as well as the periods that domestic violence is in abeyance".
Coercive control is a habit of controlling behaviors over time more similar to stalking. Although psychological abuse does not regularly lead to physical violence, it is almost constantly preceded and accompanied by psychological abuse. Coercive control signifies the invisible psychological abuses victims suffer from in the the majority of damaging relationships. The intention of coercive control is subjugation of the victim and total control by the abuser. Good examples of coercive controlling behaviors might include:
- Isolating a person from their friends and family
- Keeping track of their time
- Depriving them of their basic needs or access to support services, like as specialist support or medical services
- Tracking a person via online communication tools or making use of spyware
- Taking control over facets of their every day life, like as where they can go, whom they can see, what to wear and when they can sleep
- Continuously putting them down such as informing them they are worthless
- Enforcing rules and activity which embarrass, degrade or dehumanize the victim
- Requiring the victim to take part in criminal activity such as shoplifting, neglect or abuse of children to encourage self-blame and restrict disclosure to authorities
- Financial abuse such as control of finances, such as only allowing a person a punitive allowance
- Threats: to hurt or kill; to a child; to expose or publish private information (e.g. threatening to ‘out’ someone)
- Assault or rape
- Criminal damage (like as destruction of household goods)
- Preventing a person from having access to transportation or from working
The long term effects of this sort of abuse go further than individual episodes of interpersonal violence. Coercive and controlling abuse effects a survivor's sense of security, identity, autonomy and his or her attachments to others. With no understanding this dynamic and its full impact, victims who have survived this specific type of trauma continue to be detached by the complexness of their experiences and their needs for healing are misinterpreted and unmet.
This perspective is globally pervasive and dangerous on multiple levels. When victims escape their terror, they experience further psychological isolation, where the true harm of their experience is not recognized and society, as a whole, is left unprotected from predatory and authoritarian control.
The “primary consequence of coercive control is a condition of entrapment that can be hostage-like in the harms it inflicts on self-esteem, freedom, independence and person hood as well as to physical and psychological integrity”. Affected individuals may fear ‘staying’ in the relationship but feel not able to leave due to the entrapment that they encounter, even when they report no physical violence.
Domestic and family violence is a persistent and frequently lethal problem that concerns society at every level. Violence in families is often undetectable from view and affects its victims physically, emotionally, spiritually and financially. It threatens the stableness of the family and adversely impacts on all family members, particularly the children who learn from it that violence is an appropriate way to deal with stress or issues or to gain control over another person. It infringes our communities’ safety, health, welfare, and economies by emptying billions yearly in social costs such as medical costs, psychological problems, lost productivity and intergenerational violence.
In the case of S v Engelbrecht 2005 (2) SACR 41 (W), Satchwell J considered the complexities of domestic violence as follows and referred to Coercive Control:
"I agree with the argument that the wide definition of 'domestic violence' in the DVA is unequivocal recognition by the Legislature of the complexities of domestic violence and the multitude of manifestations thereof. It must be accepted that domestic violence, in all manifestations of abuse, is intended to and may establish a pattern of coercive control over the abused woman, such control being exerted both during the instances of active or passive abuse as well as the periods that domestic violence is in abeyance".
