{"id":2902,"date":"2019-02-28T18:16:17","date_gmt":"2019-02-28T18:16:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.just-family-law.com\/blog\/?p=2902"},"modified":"2020-09-28T10:32:16","modified_gmt":"2020-09-28T10:32:16","slug":"coercive-control","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.just-family-law.com\/blog\/index.php\/2019\/02\/28\/coercive-control\/","title":{"rendered":"Coercive control &#8211; what is it and are you a victim of it?"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_2980\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2980\" style=\"width: 515px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.just-family-law.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Coercive-Control-1.jpg\"><img data-attachment-id=\"2980\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.just-family-law.com\/blog\/index.php\/2019\/02\/28\/coercive-control\/coercive-control-2\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.just-family-law.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Coercive-Control-1.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"515,386\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Coercive Control\" data-image-description=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/www.just-family-law.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Coercive-Control-1-300x225.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.just-family-law.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Coercive-Control-1.jpg\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2980\" src=\"https:\/\/www.just-family-law.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Coercive-Control-1.jpg\" alt=\"Coercive Control\" width=\"515\" height=\"386\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.just-family-law.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Coercive-Control-1.jpg 515w, https:\/\/www.just-family-law.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/Coercive-Control-1-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 515px) 100vw, 515px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-2980\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ingrid Bergman in <em>Gaslight<\/em>, the film that gave us the term &#8220;gaslighting&#8221; because\u00a0her character is controlled and humiliated by her husband<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3><strong>Coercive control &#8211; what is it and are you a victim of it?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>In 2010\u00a0Sally Challen hammered her husband, Richard Challen, to death, and she\u00a0was found guilty of murder and sentenced to eighteen years. But on 28 February 2019 the Court of Appeal\u00a0ordered a retrial. Why? Mrs Challen, 65,\u00a0says her husband <em>controlled <\/em>and<em> humiliated<\/em>\u00a0her for forty years.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Are you being coercively controlled? <\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>The\u00a0person doing\u00a0it wants you to think you are in the <i>wrong<\/i> and they are in the <i>right<\/i>. So it can take victims a lot of courage and resolution to do anything about it.\u00a0If you think you\u00a0may be a victim please contact the police. Also make sure to ask an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.just-family-law.com\/about-us\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>experienced family lawyer<\/em><\/a> for advice.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>What is coercive control?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>If you&#8217;ve experienced\u00a0coercive control you are likely to\u00a0be fearful, and you may even feel as if you&#8217;re going mad. Here are some examples:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Use and threats of violence to get you to do things you don&#8217;t want to<\/li>\n<li>Sexual coercion<\/li>\n<li>Belittling you\u00a0to make you feel worthless<\/li>\n<li>Criticising your appearance and telling you what to wear<\/li>\n<li>Threats to tell the authorities or friends and families about you<\/li>\n<li>Threats\u00a0of harm to your child, friends, family\u00a0or pets<\/li>\n<li>Controlling your communications and social media, and distancing you from your friends, family and co-workers<\/li>\n<li>Financial\u00a0control<\/li>\n<li>&#8220;Gaslighting&#8221; &#8211;\u00a0accusing you of doing things you haven&#8217;t done, or not doing things you have<\/li>\n<li>Damaging your property &#8211; smashing your phone or laptop<\/li>\n<li>Denying you food or other essential requirements<\/li>\n<li>Forcing you to take part in criminal activity or child abuse<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Victims can feel confused and trapped and as if they are hostages. They can form an unhealthy dependency on the perpetrator.\u00a0Anyone can be a victim &#8211; young or old.<\/p>\n<h3><b>Are you &#8220;personally connected&#8221;?<\/b><\/h3>\n<p>The\u00a0next question is, does your relation to this person fall within the following list?<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Romantic or sexual relationship<\/li>\n<li>Engaged or married or in a civil partnership<\/li>\n<li>Divorced or previously engaged<\/li>\n<li>Family member, if only by marriage, and living together<\/li>\n<li>Previously in an intimate relationship, and living together<\/li>\n<li>Sharing a child\/parental responsibility<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>This of course includes same sex relationships.<\/p>\n<p>If you do not have any of\u00a0these connections you are still protected under the Protection from Harassment Act. Contact the police and take advice from an <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.just-family-law.com\/about-us\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">experienced family lawyer<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<h3><strong>What can victims of coercive control do? <\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>The police and\/or the civil Courts can protect you. Coercive control became a criminal offence in December 2015 and can lead to imprisonment. Contact the police or an <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.just-family-law.com\/about-us\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">experienced family lawyer<\/a><\/em>, or report domestic abuse and coercive control to:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nationaldomesticviolencehelpline.org.uk\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">English National Domestic Violence Helpline<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0<\/em>0808 2000 247<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.galop.org.uk\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>Galop<\/em><\/a><\/strong> (for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people)\u00a00800 999 5428<\/li>\n<li><em><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.mensadviceline.org.uk\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Men\u2019s Advice Line<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0<\/em>0808 801 0327<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>What can the police do to help?<\/b><\/h3>\n<p>It&#8217;s up to the police to obtain evidence but if you can keep a diary and any texts or emails that&#8217;s a help. But please don&#8217;t endanger yourself by collecting evidence yourself.<\/p>\n<h3><b>What can family law and the Courts do to help?<\/b><\/h3>\n<p>Make a\u00a0non molestation order to protect you. Contact an\u00a0<em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.just-family-law.com\/about-us\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">experienced family lawyer<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Coercive Control &#8211; what is it and are you a victim of it?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Contact Family Lawyer Joanne Houston on 01962 217640 for an initial <strong><em>free<\/em><\/strong> of charge consultation on the question <em>Coercive Control &#8211; what is it and are you a victim of it?<\/em> In this 20 minute session she will review your situation and how you can achieve your objectives.<\/p>\n<p><em>JUST FAMILY LAW are specialist divorce and family lawyers. We offer\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.just-family-law.com\/blog\/index.php\/2017\/06\/02\/pay-as-you-go-divorce-costs\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Pay as you go costs<\/a>. We offer\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.just-family-law.com\/blog\/index.php\/2019\/01\/17\/what-is-collaborative-family-law\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Collaborative law<\/a>\u00a0solutions tailored to your family\u2019s needs.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>The topics covered in this blog post <em>Coercive control &#8211; what is it and are you a victim of it?<\/em>\u00a0are complex. They are provided for general guidance only. If any of the circumstances mentioned in this blog apply to you, seek expert legal advice.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>image for <em>Coercive Control &#8211; what is it and are you a victim of it? <\/em>Ingrid Bergman<em>\u00a0<\/em>in the 1944 film<em> &#8220;<\/em>Gaslight&#8221; on<em>\u00a0<\/em><em><a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Gaslight_1944_trailer(3).jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Wikimedia<\/a>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Coercive control &#8211; what is it and are you a victim of it? In 2010\u00a0Sally Challen hammered her husband, Richard Challen, to death, and she\u00a0was found guilty of murder and sentenced to eighteen years. But on 28 February 2019 the Court of Appeal\u00a0ordered a retrial. Why? Mrs Challen, 65,\u00a0says her husband controlled and humiliated\u00a0her for [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2980,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[332],"tags":[520,521,517,516,522,523,518,519,524],"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.just-family-law.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2902"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.just-family-law.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.just-family-law.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.just-family-law.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.just-family-law.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2902"}],"version-history":[{"count":107,"href":"https:\/\/www.just-family-law.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2902\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4874,"href":"https:\/\/www.just-family-law.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2902\/revisions\/4874"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.just-family-law.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2980"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.just-family-law.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2902"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.just-family-law.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2902"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.just-family-law.com\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2902"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}