Coercive Control: Recognising the Signs and Understanding Your Legal Options

Domestic abuse is not always physical. Some of the most damaging forms of abuse leave no visible mark and never culminate in a single dramatic incident. They build slowly, over months or years, as one person tightens their grip on another's daily life; who they see, how they spend money, what they're allowed to think about themselves.

This pattern is known as coercive control. Knowing the signs of coercive control can be the first step towards understanding what is happening and what options are available to you. Since 2015, it has been a criminal offence in England and Wales.

If you find yourself walking on eggshells, constantly making excuses for your partner's behaviour, or quietly losing touch with friends, work, money or confidence, this article is for you. It is also for anyone supporting someone who might be in that position.

Is coercive control illegal in the UK?

Yes. The offence is set out in section 76 of the Serious Crime Act 2015. It applies where one person:

• repeatedly or continuously behaves towards another in a way that is controlling or coercive
• is personally connected to that person, most commonly as a partner, former partner or family member
• knows, or ought to know, that the behaviour will have a serious effect on the victim
• causes either a fear of violence on at least two occasions, or serious alarm or distress that has a substantial adverse effect on the victim's day-to-day life

The important word is pattern. The law focuses on the cumulative effect of repeated conduct rather than on any single incident. Behaviour that seems minor in isolation can amount to a serious criminal offence when it forms part of an established pattern of control.

Signs of coercive control

There is no single list of what coercive control looks like, but the Home Office statutory guidance and CPS prosecution guidance both recognise a number of recurring patterns:

• Isolation: cutting the victim off from family, friends or colleagues; controlling who they see, where they go and for how long.
• Financial control: restricting access to money or bank accounts, monitoring spending, preventing the victim from working, or running up debts in their name.
• Monitoring and surveillance: checking phones, demanding constant updates on whereabouts, installing tracking software, or controlling social media use.
• Degradation: persistent humiliation, undermining the victim as a parent, or making them doubt their own perceptions and memory.
• Threats and intimidation: threatening violence, threatening to disclose private information or images, harming pets, or threatening to remove children.

Many people describe a gradual erosion of independence rather than a single shocking moment. That is precisely why the law looks at patterns of behaviour rather than isolated incidents.

What changed in April 2023

The original offence required the victim and the perpetrator to be living together, unless they were in an intimate relationship. That gap left many people unprotected at exactly the moment they had taken the very difficult step of leaving.

Section 68 of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 removed that requirement. From 5 April 2023, the offence applies to intimate partners, former partners and family members regardless of whether they share a home. The change reflects what many people already know: that controlling behaviour often escalates rather than ends when a relationship breaks down.

The 2021 Act also introduced a statutory definition of domestic abuse that expressly includes controlling or coercive behaviour, economic abuse, and psychological or emotional abuse.

Penalties

A conviction for controlling or coercive behaviour can result in up to five years' imprisonment, a fine, or both. The sentence depends on the seriousness of the conduct and the court in which the case is heard.

What legal protection is available?

A criminal prosecution is one route, but it is not the only one, and for many people it is not the first step.

Under the Family Law Act 1996, the family court can make:

• a non-molestation order, prohibiting the abuser from using or threatening violence, harassing, pestering or intimidating the victim
• an occupation order, which regulates who can live in the family home

Breaching a non-molestation order is itself a criminal offence and carries a maximum sentence of five years' imprisonment.

Supporting you through divorce and children matters

Protective orders are often the most urgent step, but they are rarely the only one. For many people experiencing coercive control, the legal process doesn't end there; it extends into divorce proceedings, financial matters and arrangements for children.

This is where specialist knowledge makes a real difference. Understanding coercive control, and recognising how it operates, shapes the way we handle every aspect of a client's case. It affects how we approach negotiations, how we manage communications with the other side, and how we make sure our clients are protected throughout a process that can, in the wrong hands, become another arena for control.

We know that perpetrators of coercive control don't always stop when legal proceedings begin. We know how to navigate that, and how to ensure it doesn't disadvantage the people we are representing. At the same time, we work hard to make sure the process itself feels as manageable as possible for our clients; that they feel supported, kept informed and in control of their own decisions, often for the first time in a long time.

The goal is always the best possible outcome, reached in a way that protects our client's dignity and wellbeing throughout. That takes experience, patience and a genuine understanding of what coercive control actually does to a person. It is something we take seriously.

Recognising it is the first step

Recognising coercive control, whether in your own life or someone else's, is often the hardest part. The law in England and Wales now reflects the reality that domestic abuse is rarely a single incident and that the pattern of control matters as much as any individual act.

We understand how much it can take to recognise what is happening and then to ask for help. If you are ready to talk, or simply want to understand your options, we are here.

You do not need to have decided what to do next. You do not need to be ready to leave. You can call us, email us, or visit our contact page. Everything is treated in the strictest confidence.

If you are based in Norfolk, Suffolk or the surrounding area, our family law team is here to help.

Kate Jackson is a member of Resolution and holds its Specialist Accreditation in both domestic abuse and private children law; a recognition reserved for solicitors with genuine expertise in two of the most sensitive areas of family work.