'It's not love': Campaign to educate public on signs of coercive control

Government announces gendered violence response

An advertising campaign aimed at raising awareness of coercive control has been launched by the NSW government ahead of new laws making the act a punishable offence coming into effect.

Coercive control had been used by the perpetrator on the victim before their death in 97 per cent of domestic violence homicides between 2000 and 2018, the state’s Domestic Violence Death Review Team found.

Deputy Premier Prue Car said it was crucial for people to be able to recognise the “insidious” act.

An advertising campaign aimed at raising awareness of coercive control has been launched by the NSW government.

“Coercive control is an insidious and damaging form of domestic violence – it can leave victim survivors feeling isolated, vulnerable, and alone,” she said.

“This campaign is vital in ensuring the broader public know what coercive control looks like, and perpetrators know what they are doing is wrong.

“The past few weeks have brought into sharp focus the need for urgent action on women’s safety.”

The campaign includes the tagline “It’s not love, it’s coercive control”.

Coercive control is a “pattern of behaviour which may include financial abuse, threats against pets or loved ones, tracking someone’s movements, or isolating them from friends and family to control them”, according to the government definition.

Some of its signs mentioned in the campaign include perpetrators demanding to know where their partner is at all times, cutting partners off from friends and family members, and creating financial dependency between the victim and perpetrator.

The campaign includes the tagline

“Coercive control is behaviour designed to exercise domination and control over another, and can be hard to spot because it can be deeply contextual,” Prevention of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Minister Jodie Harrison said.

“This campaign is vital because it helps build community awareness of coercive control and what it looks like in intimate partner relationships, with the ultimate goal of saving lives.

“These ads depict abusive behaviours that are, regrettably, all too familiar to some people in our community.

“It shines a light on this insidious abuse before it escalates and results in homicide.”

From July 1, perpetrators who are found guilty of the act in NSW will face up to seven years in prison.

The campaign launch coincides with today’s national cabinet announcement from the federal government of a $925 million fund to help people flee abusive relationships, as well as a number of other measures to combat toxic attitudes towards women online.

Support is available from the National Sexual Assault, Domestic Family Violence Counselling Service at 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732).

If you are in immediate danger call triple zero (000).