Farah Nazeer, Chief Executive of Women\u2019s Aid, comments:\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThis year marks a decade since coercive and controlling behaviour has been recognised as a crime, and, with the government\u2019s violence against women and girls (VAWG) strategy being published this month,\u00a0we\u00a0hope that\u00a0we will see significant changes over the next decade.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Coercive control is at the heart\u00a0of domestic abuse \u2013 it is isolating, insidious and\u00a0confidence-crushing. It makes women feel that they\u00a0can\u2019t\u00a0exist outside of their abuser and that everything, including contact with friends and family\u00a0has to\u00a0be\u00a0approved by the abuser.\u00a0Despite it being a recognised as a crime for a decade, the conviction rates\u00a0remain\u00a0stubbornly low,\u00a0meaning that those responsible can continue this abhorrent crime with impunity.\u00a0As the government commits to eradicating VAWG, I am hopeful that in the next decade, we will see greater awareness of\u00a0coercive control, leading to more convictions\u00a0for\u00a0this abhorrent\u00a0crime, as well as greater awareness of it amongst children and young people. It is only by ensuring that young people recognise coercive control and how damaging it is, that we can work towards a world which has no place for it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n As we work towards creating a society which no longer tolerates domestic abuse, it is vital that those working in the criminal justice system receive training on coercive control, to better understand how dangerous and damaging this behaviour is. It is vital that those working on holding criminals accountable understand what coercive control is, how to recognise it and how to secure convictions for it.\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Natalie Curtis, Survivor Ambassador for Women\u2019s Aid, said:\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cCoercive control is devastating \u2013 it leaves survivors feeling ashamed,\u00a0embarrassed,\u00a0frightened\u00a0and unsure.\u00a0It takes over their whole life. As a survivor,\u00a0I know these feelings first hand.\u00a0I fled my abuser and reported the abuse to the police in\u00a02018\u00a0and I remember the fear I felt and how difficult it was to live my normal, day-to-day life.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n A decade on,\u00a0some positive changes have taken place \u2013 there is greater\u00a0awareness\u00a0and the government has committed to halving\u00a0violence\u00a0against women\u00a0and girls (VAWG), in the next decade, with a strong focus on improving children and young\u00a0people\u2019s\u00a0understanding of healthy relationships.\u00a0Despite this, conviction rates for coercive control remain stubbornly low. For years now, I, along with Women\u2019s Aid, have been calling on better training for all those working in the criminal\u00a0justice\u00a0system\u00a0\u2013 the insidious nature of coercive control must be understood and its impact on survivors cannot be underestimated. Only when taken seriously can we hope to improve conviction rates and make sure women are safe\u00a0from\u00a0this awful crime.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Criminalisation of coercive control reaches 10-year anniversary Farah Nazeer, Chief Executive of Women\u2019s Aid, comments:\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThis year marks a decade since coercive and controlling behaviour has been recognised as a crime, and, with the government\u2019s violence against women and girls (VAWG) strategy being published this month,\u00a0we\u00a0hope that\u00a0we will see significant changes over the next decade.\u00a0 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1322,"featured_media":49229,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"pmpro_default_level":"","inline_featured_image":false,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-49228","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","pmpro-has-access"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n