‘You don’t need to have bruises to have been abused’: Coercive control to become crime under new legislation

Coercive control can be exercised in a variety of ways: it could involve isolating a partner from their friends, family and support network; controlling what they wear or eat; monitoring or tracking their digital activity, social media profiles or physical movements; subjecting them to repeated tirades of verbal or psychological abuse; controlling their access to finances; dictating when they can socialise or work or causing them to doubt their sanity by repeatedly undermining their judgements; making threats of violence if they do not act in a compliant way.

Such behaviours can gradually erode a person’s sense of independence and they may become acculturated to an atmosphere of fear, always concerned that they might inadvertently provoke an abusive partner towards yet more negative, damaging behaviours.

Since 2015 coercive control has been prosecuted as a criminal offence in England, Scotland and Wales, but here in Northern Ireland, in part because of the temporary dissolution of the executive, victims of this kind of psychological and emotional bullying have been unable to seek redress.

But this is about to change. The cause was taken up by ex Justice Minister Claire Sugden with Naomi Long, who succeeded her in the post, now taking up the baton to have the Domestic Abuse Bill here amended to include coercive control as a criminal offence.

Donna Maria Logue is founder of La Dolce Vita Project in Londonderry, a charity which provides support to women, men and children in situations of domestic abuse.

She said: “We absolutely welcome the proposed legislation. For a long time we have not been able to get legal recognition that not all forms of domestic abuse are physical. Indirect threats, humiliation and bullying are incredibly harmful emotionally and psychologically. We are talking about long-term campaigns of undermining a partner to devastating effect. It’s like terrorising the brain, one victim told us, to the point where you were unable to work out right or wrong or what is actually happening; you begin to doubt your own judgements and your own mind when someone is consistently insisting that you are doing wrong.

“This is about robbing someone of their freedom, it’s about manipulation, and it chips away at someone’s identity, sense of self and self-belief.

“With coercive control the difficulty is that a lot of women feel doubtful about whether what they are experiencing is abuse because they do not have bruises to show.

“We want to be there for women who are being controlled and to let them see that life can be better if they reach out, get the correct support. We need to help them believe in themselves and their own strength so that they can walk away from abusive partners. We should also note that even though it is more common for women to be victims, men can also be subject to domestic abuse too. And let’s not forget about the impact of this on children. Abuse affects the family unit as a whole.”

Kelly Andrews is chief executive of Belfast and Lisburn Women’s Aid which provides refuge and support services for women fleeing situations of domestic abuse. On the issue of coercive control she says: “It’s about the perpetrator creating ownership over the victim. So for example, isolating a person from their family and friends. When you look at incidences of domestic violence and domestic murder, coercive control often happens before it reaches that stage.

“Commonly, coercive control is about repeatedly putting a person down, telling them they are worthless. I’d describe it as a way of dehumanising and degrading the victim. It might be ‘I’ll kill you if you don’t do this or that’. Or it might be threatening to share intimate images or footage online. It could be forcing them to engage in criminal behaviour. There are so many different forms.

“Many women enter relationships where at first their partner is incredibly charming and loving, and then this cycle of negative behaviour develops and it can sometimes be hard for women to recognise and acknowledge that they are being abused because they perhaps assume it must involve violence to be serious when this is not the case.”

Andrews emphasises that many women continue to suffer situations of coercive control because they feel they are somehow to blame for the behaviour of their partner.

“Women struggle to seek help often because they feel a sense of shame that they are being treated in this way. But we need to get the message out there to victims that it is not their fault if they are being subjected to this kind of behaviour. Perpetrators will concentrate on victim-blaming. So, ‘it’s your fault that I behave as I do’.

“Friends and family need to listen to women and what they say about how they are being treated and believe them. Often people will miss red flags and only realise their significance when tragedy has already occurred.”

Of the proposed change to the domestic abuse laws she added: “This is a very important piece of legislation and one that we as an organisation have campaigned for and certainly welcome.”

Domestic abuse is on the increase in Northern Ireland. According to PSNI statistics we have seen 32,127 domestic abuse incidents across the province between July 2019 and June 2020, an increase of 570 (1.8 per cent) on the previous 12 months and the highest 12 month period recorded since the start of the data series in 2004/05. And this does not include incidents of coercive control.

Andrews continues: “If you think about it a lockdown situation provides the perfect conditions for a domestic abuser. The Government message was ‘Stay home, stay safe’. But if you are in an abusive relationship them home is not a sanctuary as it should be and, for many women, being confined to their homes with an abusive partner is a nightmare scenario. At Women’s Aid we were very concerned about this and wanted to be as proactive as possible on social media to let people know we were and are still here to help.”

Justice Minister Naomi Long told the News Letter that “tackling the scourge of domestic abuse is very much a key priority”.

“Non-violent domestic abuse is every bit as serious as physical violence, and causes immense damage and has a lasting impact on victims and survivors.

“I am acutely aware of the significant number of domestic abuse incidents. Whilst it is positive that people have the confidence to come forward and report, the number of people suffering domestic abuse is of genuine concern, and I am working with partners from across the Executive to help tackle this by ensuring we meet the commitments of the domestic and sexual abuse strategic action plan.”

The Bill is currently at Committee Stage in the NI Assembly which involves scrutiny by the Justice Committee on its provisions. Assuming the Committee completes its deliberations in the autumn, it is anticipated Royal Assent will be granted by April 2021. To contact the 24 hour Domestic and Sexual Abuse Helpline call 0808 802 414.

For Women’s Aid visit belfastwomensaid.org.uk or call 028 9066 6049

For more information on La Dolce Vita Project in Londonderry visit www.la-dolce-vita-project.com.