Coercive control is an act or pattern of behavior that involves violence, threats, humiliation and intimidation, as well as other forms of abuse in a partner relationship. The goal of this behavior of the abuser is to hurt, punish or intimidate his victim. Coercion and controlling behavior lie at the very core of partner and family violence, to which women are far more exposed than men.
Coercive control is a form of manipulation by which the abuser tries to create complete dependence and powerlessness of the victim. This form of violence includes restriction of social contacts, access to finances, control of her daily activities and detailed management of her life. Research shows that this tactic has far-reaching psychological and physical consequences for the victim and that it represents a significant risk for the escalation of violence. Controlling partners often continue the abuse after separation, abusing children to keep the victim in a state of perpetual insecurity. Many studies show that as many as 92 percent of femicides include a previous history of coercive control.
Although partner violence consists of cycles in which phases of escalation alternate, that is, violence and the so-called the honeymoon, when the partner is attentive and tender towards his victim, in all these stages coercive control is present. "Both the escalation of violence and the 'honeymoon' are tactics of control, its reinforcement and maintenance," Tanja Ignjatović, a psychologist at the Autonomous Women's Center, told Vreme.
On November 27, Tanja Ignjatović spoke at an expert meeting on coercive control organized by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in Serbia together with the Judicial Academy, as part of the global campaign "16 days of activism against violence against women". This meeting was intended for judges, prosecutors, centers for social work and police officers who work on the prevention of domestic violence.
Apart from Tanja Ignjatović, Prof. Anita Lauri Korajlija from the University of Zagreb, Dr. Milena Tripković, professor of criminology at the University of Edinburgh and Dr. Emma Forbes, national manager for domestic violence problems in Scotland and deputy public prosecutor at the Crown Prosecution Service of Scotland. The participation of female lecturers from Scotland is particularly important because coercive control has been a criminal offense there for five years.
HOW SCOTLAND CRIMINALIZED CONTROL
Milena Tripković explains in an interview for "Vreme" that Scottish criminal law tendencies are generally considered progressive, compassionate and caring: "This approach is applied both to the perpetrators and to the victims of criminal acts, which makes Scotland reminiscent of the Scandinavian countries."
Professor Tripković adds that for this reason the ground for the introduction of such a law was already fertile. Nevertheless, the road to the adoption of the law was long and required the fulfillment of numerous conditions: "If I had to summarize the main reasons that contributed to the change, I would say that a large number of willing and committed actors gathered in order to give the correct answer to the severity and prevalence of violence in the family. Passing the law required serious consideration, will and commitment in order to achieve this goal”.
Dr. Emma Forbes explains that domestic violence is not a single incident, but an ongoing process that the victim goes through, and that this understanding is now reflected in Scottish laws: "The law now allows us to give priority to women's lived experience. For the first time, they can see how the specific abuse they experienced can be subsumed under a single crime."
Forbes mentions a unique crime because coercive control always exists in abusive relationships and does not have to be accompanied by another form of violence (physical, sexual, financial).
Milena Tripković adds to that: "The adoption of the law aimed to recognize numerous problems related to domestic violence that were not, before this law was adopted, adequately covered by the existing criminal legislation. These problems relate, among other things, to the fact that psychological violence is in practice more common than physical violence, that abuse usually takes place over an extended period of time, and that children are often used as tools or are witnesses to such acts".
LIKE COOKING A FROG
When we talk about violence in the family, especially when it is directed at women, there is still often a prejudice that "she didn't look at who she was marrying", "she likes bullies" and the like. However, abusive relationships seem like any other at the very beginning. Maybe even a little more beautiful, more fairy-tale. Tanja Ignjatović explains that controlling behavior appears at the very beginning of a partner relationship, but in an atypical way - through outpourings of love, affection, idealization of the partner, agreement in all aspects. This creates a feeling of uniqueness in the woman, and the partner's desire to spend all the time together is not perceived as a sign of control and the beginning of isolation. It is typical for a relationship to quickly progress to serious relationship status.
"Even when a woman at that stage intuitively feels that something is wrong, when there is a conflict, when she tries to set boundaries or end the relationship, his pleas, promises and attention, persistence to keep her, often trap her. At this stage, she does not recognize control, for her it is not violence, but an 'incident' that can be rationalized", says Tanja Ignjatović.
From this stage, control spreads to all other aspects of a woman's life, but it should be kept in mind that it is a highly individualized strategy (there is no unique pattern). Coercion is maintained by threats, which never have to be realized, but which are possible (women believe that the abuser can make them happen). Over time, strategies of control and coercion may become more intense and cruel, and may escalate into physical or sexual violence. "At this stage, she is aware that it is about violence," says Tanja Ignjatović. "When a woman decides to end the relationship and leave the controlling partner, it usually won't stop the violence. It can also escalate to serious injury or death."
But if she survives and reports, the evidence is mostly based on her account of what she experienced. Emma Forbes explains what this looks like in practice in Scotland. "The victim's statement is the most important in the prosecutor's prosecution of coercive control, but this is a deeply intimate attack on a woman, which is a challenge for the police and the prosecution," says Emma Forbes. She adds that the woman is scared, the police officer feels like an intruder in someone else's privacy, the prosecutor is nervous because they are talking about emotions, and there is also a judge who may not understand the complex dynamics that exist here. However, it is possible, says Emma Forbes, to find material evidence. These could be statements from neighbors, records of her calls to the police, photos of injuries, messages he sent her, the presence of surveillance devices in the shared home, bank statements...
"However, there is no stronger proof than the testimony of the victim," claims Emma Forbes. "To ensure this, she must feel safe in the criminal process and understand every step of the process." This is achieved through support services, special training for the police, the prosecution and the judiciary... The evidence of coercive control is often crystal clear – from the testimony of friends and family, through limiting contact with children, evidence of economic abuse.” Emma Forbes, however, says that we are still not good at recognizing: "Proving coercive control starts with changing social attitudes and educating the entire justice system."
Tanja Ignjatović confirms that the professional public overlooks psychological violence: "It is particularly difficult for them to see coercive control as a system of microregulation and abuse of women's autonomy, which remains invisible and unnamed." Each of the control tactics has consequences. Most victims will have symptoms of anxiety and depression, and some will have suicidal thoughts, as well as a number of other health problems. The consequences will also be reflected in social relations, professional life, parenting".
Speaking about the recovery process, Tanja Ignjatović says that it can begin when the victim becomes aware that it is a pattern, about deliberate, calculated behavior, and not about an "incident", a loss of control: "When forced control lasts a long time, when it becomes more intense and more cruel, along with other risks in the environment or characteristics of the victim, it carries the risk of chronic or complex trauma. It is certain that we do not have enough experts to work with trauma resulting from various forms of violence, including coercive control. We do not have enough trained experts to determine and document the consequences of various forms of violence, including coercive control, and therefore it goes under the radar, and women are assigned different diagnoses, which often leads to the substitution of cause and effect, to the detriment of women".
SERBIA ALSO HAS A WAY TO PROCESS
Apart from coercive control, the criminal law in Scotland, as well as in the United Kingdom, recognizes and prosecutes many other subtle forms of abuse, such as "gaslighting", which we translate as stalking, and it is about convincing a woman that something did not happen as she claims, but that she misunderstood, that she did not hear or see well, and even that she completely imagined it. Also, "love bombing", i.e. flooding with attention, gifts, etc. it is considered a stage of abuse, especially in cases of stalking and sexual harassment. When asked which acts are criminalized in Scotland, and which are not recognized as a problem in Serbia, Milena Tripković gives a surprising answer: that the Serbian legislation actually has a way to process this as well.
"That question refers to the difference between behavior that can be brought under the existing norms of criminal law and behavior that is usually prosecuted," says Professor Tripković. "The difference between the two can be very significant, which means that prosecutors can interpret the norms very narrowly, and consequently prosecute only certain forms of domestic violence. In Serbia, the relevant provision regulating domestic violence (Article 194 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Serbia) is extremely broad and could, theoretically, cover various forms of violence. This also includes coercive control which may consist of the behaviors you mention (gas lighting i love bombing). Therefore, the problem - as is known - is not necessarily in the content of legal rules, but in the way of their application. In the case of Serbia, the main problems concern the inconsistent and partial application of the law, where the legal norm is mainly limited to the processing of cases of physical violence."
IN THE VORTEX OF THE SYSTEM
Emma Forbes highlights the fact that victims' experiences in the justice system are often retraumatizing. "We imagine trials as Netflix dramas, and that is far from reality," she says. "Life is not a series and in the process itself there is no summary that would remind us what happened in the previous episodes. Victims are in a long court process where they have to follow and watch everything that happens. Women's Aid Services work hard to monitor the trials and 'demystify' the whole process. However, for a woman who is a party to the proceedings, the outcome and the verdict directly affect her life, the lives of her children, and her reaction to it all is deeply emotional. It is also the biggest obstacle on the way for the victim to fully understand every step in the court process." Emma Forbes clarifies this through the quotes of the women she talked to: "His truth is stronger than mine", "I feel so small", "No one will believe me"... These statements point to a general problem: women at the start have less credibility than men. And that is a structural social problem. When the law recognizes and overcomes the problem in social beliefs, everything gets better for women victims of violence that happens behind closed doors.
"The real success of the Scottish law lies in the fact that it has criminalized a frequent form of violence that is extremely well hidden and is committed by very manipulative perpetrators: this crime includes not only coercive control, but also other forms of physically and psychologically harmful behavior," he says. Milena Tripković. "The use of specially designed prosecutorial tools and techniques - such as the priority given to such cases and the presumption in favor of the investigation - are also key to its success."
This text was published as part of the campaign Jealousy is not love. #TičeMeSe, which is realized with the support of the project "Let's stop violence - Let's achieve equality". The project is jointly implemented by United Nations agencies in Serbia: UNDP, UNFPA, UNICEF and UN Women in partnership with the Government of the Republic of Serbia, with the support of the Government of Sweden. The project contributes to the creation of a society in which gender-based discrimination and violence are unacceptable, women's rights are protected, and women and men participate equally and contribute to all spheres of life.
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