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The national elder advocacy organisation says the debate and legislative inquiry into coercive control does not go far enough. That activity has been almost solely focused on intimate partner relationships, but coercion and control can happen in any kind of relationship with a power imbalance. It’s happening with alarming frequency to older people and those with disability.
Abusers can be both men and women. They may be intimate partners, but they can also be siblings, adult children, or even care workers. One of the difficulties of identifying coercive control is the behaviours are nuanced to every relationship. For example, someone with cognitive impairment may require a substitute decision maker, usually with an Enduring Power of Attorney, to make financial decisions in their best interests. In a different context, or with a different person, monetary limits may be used to control personal freedom.
WA’s Commissioner for Victims of Crime, Kati Kraszlan, said the defining thing for all coercive control cases is the presence of fear. Victims of coercion and controlling behaviour are fearful; the relationship with their abuser is dominated by fear.
A 2021 survey by the Monash Gender and Family Violence Prevention Centre provides valuable insight into what victims and survivors of coercive control experience.
The study shows what Advocare already believes – psychological abuse underpins all other abuse. Older people experience the same kinds of abuse in coercive and controlling situations, but their natural vulnerabilities can make it even more terrifying.
Each state is approaching the issue of coercive control differently. This state-by-state approach can be problematic for many issues – like guardianship and migration – but it also creates confusion in the wider community about who are victims.
Advocare is asking that all people be included in the current legislative inquiries. We need to expand our understanding of coercion and control at the national level to include anyone who is being victimised in a power imbalance. The defining feature of coercive control law should not be that it’s occurring in a family or intimate partner relationship, but that the relationship is dominated by fear.