- State-wide campaign to highlight that family and domestic violence (FDV) is not just physical
- $5 million, two-year public awareness campaign to educate Western Australians on the dangers of coercive control
- Campaign builds on the Cook Government's extensive work to end FDV, with $422 million invested since 2021
- Follows Government's legislation to make it easier for victim-survivors of coercive control to obtain a restraining order
An emotive new campaign warning of the dangers of coercive control has been launched by the Cook Government today.
Running over two years, the campaign aims to help victim-survivors, perpetrators and the general public recognise the signs of coercive control and its devastating impacts.
Developed with insights from victim-survivors, stakeholders, advocates and informed by discussions of the Family and Domestic Violence Taskforce, the $5 million campaign sends the message that family and domestic violence is more than just physical violence.
Coercive control is defined as a pattern of behaviours deployed by a perpetrator to cause harm and maintain control over another person. These actions can be subtle, manipulative, individually targeted and tailored to the victim-survivor over a period of time.
The campaign's tagline, "It doesn't have to be physical. Coercive control is family and domestic violence", highlights how behaviours such as monitoring, isolating, intimidation and gaslighting can result in loss of autonomy and create a sense of fear for victim-survivors.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, an estimated 23 per cent of women and 16 per cent of men have experienced emotional abuse by a partner at some point since the age of 15.
To support the campaign, the WA Government has also developed an online information hub for people to learn about coercive control, including how to identify behaviours, how to have a conversation with someone experiencing it, and how to seek support.
The campaign is part of the Cook Government's strong commitment to preventing FDV, with more than $422 million invested since 2021 into programs that support victim-survivors and hold perpetrators to account.
The campaign follows the recent passing of systemic legislative reforms to prevent coercive control. The new laws amend the Restraining Orders Act 1997 to include a reference to the patterned nature of coercive control behaviours and their cumulative effect in the existing definition of family violence.
The Cook Government's phased approach to the criminalisation of coercive control starts with education and training, mirrors other jurisdictions and is guided by stakeholder and subject matter advice.
Ensuring the system is able to respond appropriately is expected to improve the likelihood of successful prosecutions once coercive control is criminalised, to better protect victim-survivors.
To learn more about coercive control, visit wa.gov.au/coercivecontrol.
Comments attributed to Premier Roger Cook:
"This new family and domestic violence campaign is a crucial step towards educating the community on what coercive control is and how damaging and harmful the behaviours are.
"The campaign is informed by discussions of the historic Family and Domestic Violence Taskforce, which I convened late last year.
"It's vital we send a message to the wider community that coercive control is family and domestic violence. Quite simply, it's unacceptable.
"We have already legislated to make it easier for victim-survivors of coercive control to obtain a restraining order, by including a reference to the patterned nature of coercive control behaviours in the existing definition of 'family violence' in the Restraining Orders Act.
"The campaign builds on the range of systematic and legislative reforms underway to protect and support victim-survivors and hold perpetrators accountable.
"My Government continues to invest in initiatives to prevent family and domestic violence and we're always looking at ways to better protect victim-survivors of family domestic violence and the community."
Comments attributed to Prevention of Family and Domestic Violence Minister Sabine Winton:
"Coercive control is an evil form of abuse that can be hard to see and understand, but still has a devastating impact on victim-survivors, their families and the wider community.
"To take steps forward in addressing and eliminating this horrible type of behaviour as a whole community, it's critical that people understand what coercive control might look or feel like to a victim-survivor.
"Behaviours like extreme jealousy, having complete control over finances or tracking a partner's every move need to be part of the everyday national conversation on family and domestic violence, and that can only start with education initiatives like this - the first of its kind in our State.
"We've worked closely with victim-survivors, stakeholders and advocates on this campaign to clearly show the various forms coercive control can take and highlight that family and domestic violence isn't always physical or easily visible.
"We know that family and domestic violence can take many forms, which is why the campaign is one of a range of measures we're implementing across the board to address this issue, from preventative education and behaviour programs to community support services, crisis intervention and legislative reform.
"We all have a role to play in addressing this scourge on our community, and our Government will continue to do what we can to educate and stop the violence before it starts, while also supporting victim-survivors and holding perpetrators to account."
