Intimate partner violence (IPV) and child welfare

Coercive control, sometimes called coercion control, describes “patterns of control and abuse that cause fear or terror, including coercion (using force and/or threats to alter behaviour) and control (regulating or dominating a partner’s behaviour and choices, isolating a person from family and friends, and restricting access to employment, education or medical care).” It is a form of intimate partner violence, which “impacts people of all genders, ages, socioeconomic, racial, educational, ethnic, religious and cultural backgrounds. However, women account for the vast majority of people who experience this form of gender-based violence and it is most often perpetrated by men" (Intimate Partner Violence Fact Sheet, Government of Canada). 

The Divorce Act was updated in March 2021 to include coercive and controlling behaviour to the definition of family violence. As defined by the Act, "Family violence means any conduct, whether or not the conduct constitutes a criminal offence, by a family member towards another family member, that is violent or threatening or that constitutes a pattern of coercive and controlling behaviour or that causes that other family member to fear for their own safety or for that of another person — and in the case of a child, the direct or indirect exposure to such conduct." 

In defining coercive control in comparison to situational couple violence, the Western Centre for Research and Education on Violence Against Women and Children cite that violence in cases of coercive control include:

• Intimidation (e.g., stalking; threats against the individual, their children, or their pets; degradation; surveillance)
• Isolation (e.g., prohibiting them from working or going to events, refusing to interpret or failing to interpret verbal communications from service providers and others)
• Control designed to compel obedience and foster dependence on the one inducing the violence (e.g., withholding or sabotaging needed equipment like wheelchairs, hearing aids, medications, ramps)
• Violence (Lombard and McMillan 2013)

In the same document, the researchers at the Western Centre for Research and Education on Violence Against Women and Children write that "a unique aspect of coercive control is that it is omnipresent and psychological in nature, affecting all aspects of life for the one subjected to the abuse. Within the context of coercive control, the abuse often permeates many or all facets of life including, but not limited to, personal hygiene, sexual relationships/performance, relationships with family and friends, finances, and performance of household duties. As such, an individual cannot easily escape the violence because so many areas of their life are controlled. This seemingly omnipresent threat fosters an environment in which the recipient of the abuse feels trapped not only in their home, but in seemingly benign occurrences throughout the course of their day (e.g., shopping for the “right” cut of meat at the grocery store) (Williamson 2010). As such, an individual’s sense of self, independence, and freedom can begin to erode, leaving the individual experiencing the violence without the feeling of autonomy."

This section of the guide includes resources on the subject of coercive control, including analyses of policy, informational websites, and videos.