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ChecklistDomestic violenceRelationships1 minute read
Signs of coercive control
Abuse that is about a pattern, not single incidents.
Coercive control is a pattern of behaviour that takes away someone's freedom and sense of self. It may involve no physical violence at all.
Signs
- Isolating you from friends and family
- Monitoring your phone, location or messages
- Controlling what you wear, eat or spend
- Deciding when you can sleep or leave the house
- Making threats, including to hurt themselves, pets or children
- Constant put downs
- Rules that keep changing so you can never get it right
Why it is serious
Coercive control wears people down over time. It is recognised as abuse in many countries, and in some it is a crime.
If this sounds familiar
You are not imagining it. Talk to a domestic abuse service confidentially. Find one in your country.
