We asked a large group of women about how domestic violence (also known as intimate partner violence) they’d experienced had started and escalated.
A general pattern emerged. First came psychological abuse, then physical abuse, then sexual abuse.
The types of psychological abuse women told us about indicate they’d experienced coercive control.
Coercive control is defined as a pattern of restrictive, manipulative and dominating behaviours used to undermine a partner’s autonomy and freedom. While it can occur in any type of relationship, it is most commonly perpetrated by men against women partners and is underpinned by inequitable gender roles and misogynistic attitudes.
Another way of describing coercive control is a pattern of behaviours that aim to prevent a partner from being in charge of their life. For instance, this could mean controlling who a partner can see, what they can wear, or where they can go. Or it could mean questioning a partner’s sanity when they raise concerns about abusive behaviour.
Australian states and territories have scrambled to tackle the issue legally. Queensland recently joined New South Wales in making coercive control a standalone criminal offence.
On average, women told us physically abusive behaviours first appeared after a major life commitment, such as marriage or moving in together.
In general, sexual abuse by a partner first emerged after the psychological and physical abuse started.
For survivors who had a child during the relationship and whose partner was sexually abusive, the worst of that sexual violence generally came sometime after giving birth.