Coercive Control: The Abuse That Can Be Difficult to See
Coercive Control: The Abuse That Can Be Difficult to See
Understanding how patterns of control can develop within relationships, gradually affecting freedom, independence and our sense of self.
When we think about domestic abuse, we often think about individual incidents: an argument that escalates, a threat, an act of intimidation or an episode of physical violence.
But some of the most damaging experiences of abuse cannot be understood by looking at individual incidents alone.
Instead, they develop through a pattern of behaviour that gradually changes how another person lives, what they feel able to do and how safe they feel within their own relationship.
This is known as coercive control.
It can be difficult to recognise, both for the person experiencing it and for those around them. There may be no obvious injuries, no single incident that seems to explain the distress, and no clear moment when the relationship changed.
Instead, there may be a gradual narrowing of freedom.
A person may begin to think more carefully about...