Campaign to criminalise coercive control in domestic relationships

A review by the New South Wales Coroner's Court has found that 99 percent of domestic homicides were preceded by some form of coercive control. So a new campaign, featuring federal parliamentarians is urging states and territories to outlaw this form of domestic violence.

A floral tribute at a domestic violence memorial Source: AAP

This conduct is commonly defined as a pattern of domination that includes tactics such as isolation from loved ones, monitoring and surveillance, humiliation and degradation. 

Nithya Reddy believes if her sister, Preethi Reddy understood what coercive control was... she would still be alive.

"To exert control and force is ultimately the most dangerous thing and she didn't know that because we haven't learnt that as a society, so many young women don't know that, I didn't know that."

While some states including New South Wales and Queensland are looking at ways to criminalise it,  some experts have cautioned that the current justice system is simply not set up to support it as a standalone offence.

Michal Morris from the InTouch Multicultural Centre Against Family Violence in Victoria supports coercive control being criminalised but says there are risks that need to be addressed.

"A lot of the times when the police turn up, it can be quite a confusing environment particularly if the couple do not speak English so we need to unpack it so sometimes there will be a misidentification of the perpetrator."

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