Controlling or coercive behaviour is designed to make a person feel inferior and/or dependent. It involves keeping the person apart from friends, help and support. It is used to harm, punish, or frighten the victim.
Controlling or coercive behaviour can take different forms. It can be subtle and built up over time. Examples include:
- Isolating someone from family and friends
- Controlling and monitoring someone’s daily activities. Such as where they go, who they spend time with, what they wear
- Controlling and monitoring basic needs. For example, what and when someone can eat. Or when and where they sleep
- Controlling money; monitoring bank accounts
- Threaten or intimidating someone
- Threatening to share personal, sensitive information
- Using children to control the victim. Such as threating to take children away
- Humiliating someon
- Refusing to interpre
- Preventing someone from taking medicine or getting medical care
- Physical violence, sexual abuse, emotional or psychological abuse, economic abuse, verbal abuse.
Controlling or coercive behaviour can amount to a criminal offence. An abuser can be punished in the criminal court with up to 5 years imprisonment.
For more information about controlling and coercive behaviour see Chapter 2 of the Domestic Abuse: statutory guidance 2021 and Controlling or Coercive Behaviour Statutory Guidance What the police and organisations should do to keep victims safe.
What has the Family Court said about controlling or coercive behaviour?
Coercive behaviour ‘will usually involve a pattern of acts encompassing, for example, assault, intimidation, humiliation and threat’ and controlling behaviour as behaviour ‘designed to make a person subordinate.’ (F v M [2021] EWFC 4 (Fam)
That ‘the overwhelming majority’ of domestic abuse (particularly abuse perpetrated by men against women) is underpinned by coercive control and it is the overarching issue that ought to be tried first by the court. (Re H & N and Others (children) (domestic abuse: finding of fact hearings) [2021] EWCA Civ 448.