Coercive Controlling behaviour.
Coercive Control encapsulates all forms of domestic violence. It is a pattern of behavior or strategy by a person that uses threats, menacing, intimidation, stalking, manipulation, isolation humiliation, financial abuse, gaslighting, physical and sexual abuse to coerce and control their vicitim.
The patterns are designed to isolate a person so that they become dependent on a person for financial, emotional, housing and food and even their connection to the world.
Coercive control involves slowly hijacking a person's life, stealing their independence and their ability to take action. And governing their every move that they make. It creates invisible chains that are controlling, manipulative, exploitative and trapped.
Words like Hostage, Exploitation and Sabotage are used to describe victims experience of Coercive Controlling Behavior much like prisoners of war, there is some interesting research on the similarities of how prisoners of war and vicitms of coercive controlling behaviour behave.
Understanding Coercive Control and using the correct language is important to describe this insidious form of behaviour and the many strategies and tools used to coerce and control victims.
Abusers are controllers and should be referred to as THE CONTROLLER when describing the behaviour. Understanding coercive control makes it easier for victims to identify the patterns, their abuse and articulate the harm caused.
Many of the behaviours defined in the DV Act are criminalised in South Africa however this makes it complex to investigate and prosecute for many reasons including cognitive biases, culture and religion which normalises some abusive behaviours. Coerce Controlling behaviour should be criminalised then the focus is on the behaviour, the tools and the evidence which is; intimidation, threats, stalking and harassment and the tools used such as money, children and litigation. Prosecuting domestic violence/abusive behaviour as defined in our DV Act would be strengthened.
Unlike physical abuse, coercive behaviour can be perpetrated from anywhere, at any time and by any means, what makes it difficult to see is that it is done covertly, silently and is often invisible to anybody else and does not leave physical evidence which can be easily documented on a J form as evidence.
●Clerks at the Domestic Violence Courts should be properly trained on coercive controlling behaviour so that they can assist victims when applying for protection orders.
●SAPS officials should be properly trained on coercive controlling behaviour so that they can assist victims when reporting incidents and violations of protection orders.
●Prosecutors should be properly trained so that they can guide the investigations and have the correct evidence for succesful prosecutions.
●Magistrates should be properly trained so that they can identify coercive controlling behaviour and protect victims when applying for protection orders and violations.
●Judges should be properly trained so that they can identify coercive controlling behaviour when hearing family matters in high court.
If all the above role players were properly informed they would do risk assessments, they would not put victims at more risk of further abuse and more coercive control.
We need greater awareness, education, support and advocacy on Coercive Control.
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