Travelling workshops hope to improve spotting coercive control in rural and regional Australian communities

Four lives tragically cut short by domestic violence. Brisbane woman Hannah Clark and her three young children were murdered by her estranged husband in 2020. The dangerous patterns of controlling behaviour in the lead up to their deaths now being shared with regional Queenslanders. Everyday people, whether you're in business, universities, factories, schools, wherever. At a sports hall in Townsville, dozens listen and learn to spot the signs of coercive control before they escalate. Where it doesn't have to actually be like a soul that you see. It can be like mind controlling and other behaviours like that. I've always looked at it as, you know, people hitting people or you know, bit more obvious and definitely more of the more subtle signs. Don't be afraid to speak up, even if it's just checking in with a friend or a sibling. Even advocates say early intervention has the power to save a life, and coercive controlled behaviours are just as dangerous as physical violence in terms of its predictor of homicide and other serious forms of, you know, physical violence. So far this year, more than 30 women have been violently killed in Australia, allegedly by a man. But those on the frontline of the domestic violence crisis say awareness of coercive control is growing. Not being able to control your own finances, constantly being monitored, whether it be through mapping or text communication or phone communication with your partner. Telling behaviours police say can be difficult to identify and report in rural and regional communities. If a perpetrator has the entire support of a small community, a victim survivor is really locked in, it's very difficult for them to get out. A small step to help those who see the alarming behaviour to speak up with confidence. It is a signal of imminent danger and the need to intervene before the police and the ambulances and the hospitals get involved. Because if you wait for that to happen, we are waiting for funerals.