From February 2022 coercive control is illegal in Northern Ireland under the Domestic Abuse and Civil Proceedings Act (Northern Ireland) 2021.

What is coercive control?

Coercive control is an act of a pattern of acts of assault, threats, humiliation and intimidation or other abuse that is used to harm, punish, or frighten their victim. The purpose of this controlling behaviour is designed to make a person dependent by isolating them from any support, exploiting them, depriving them of their own independence and being able to regulate their activity so they have complete control over their whereabouts.

• Protection is no longer limited to physical abuse, with the legislation criminalising a pattern of non-physical abusive behaviour

• Abusive behaviour may also include sexual abuse and technological or digital abuse.

• It will capture patterns of two or more occasions of physical and/or psychological abuse by a partner, ex-partner or close family member and will include behaviour that is physically

violent, threatening or intimidating

If you have been affected by any of these issues you can contact the domestic and sexual abuse helpline on:

📱 08088021414 📧 help@dsahelpline.org 💻 web chat – dsahelpline.org or you can contact the Police on 999.

You WILL be heard, You WILL be believed.