Arizona HB 2995, the Alec and Lydia Act, would force family courts to weigh domestic violence and coercive control before parenting time.
Coercive Control
Coercive control is a sustained pattern of behavior used by one person to dominate, subjugate, and trap another. It is not a single incident — it is a campaign, unfolding over months or years through isolation, surveillance, financial restriction, gaslighting, degradation, and the systematic erosion of the targeted person’s autonomy, identity, and sense of what is real.
The term was developed by forensic social worker Dr. Evan Stark, who described it as a liberty crime — an offense not primarily against the body but against personhood itself. In many jurisdictions it is now recognized in law. In the UK, coercive and controlling behavior has been a criminal offense since 2015. In Australia, New South Wales introduced a standalone coercive control offense in 2024. In the United States, Hawaii and Connecticut have enacted coercive control legislation, with additional states advancing bills.
Narcissistic Abuse Rehab maintains the Global Coercive Control Legislation Index — the first systematic index of its kind on the web — as a reference for survivors, advocates, legal professionals, and policymakers navigating this landscape.
Content tagged here covers the full spectrum of coercive control: its tactics and mechanisms, its neurological and psychological consequences, the legal frameworks designed to address it, its relationship to femicide and intimate partner homicide, and the recovery frameworks that support genuine healing. For the most comprehensive overview, see the Definitive Guide to Coercive Control.
If you have spent any time inside the legal system as a survivor of coercive control, you know what it is to watch a piece of legislation move. You know the years between a bill arriving in committee and a bill reaching enforcement. You know the difference a statute makes when it names what happened to you. You also know…
Mortal discard names the category of terminal patterns in coercive control — social, extraction, induced-suicidality, and homicide.
Kellie Sutton’s case established the UK’s first “unlawful killing” inquest conclusion for self-inflicted death following coercive control.
South Carolina’s Mica’s Law — a bill to criminalize coercive control — has stalled in committee. Here’s what happened and what’s next.
Colorado’s coercive control legislation is at a pivotal moment. HB26-1309 — a bill that could change how family courts handle domestic abuse cases — is scheduled for a Senate vote on May 11, 2026. You need to know what is in it, and what opposition is trying to do to stop it.
The story behind the Global Coercive Control Legislation Index, why I built it, and how you can help me continue this work.
Grey rock and no contact explained practically — scripts, co-parenting, legal contexts, the nervous system challenge, and more.
Financial abuse after separation — asset concealment, lawfare, non-payment of support. What it looks like, how to document it, and rebuild.
Technology-facilitated stalking after separation — what it looks like, the omnipresence effect, and how to conduct a full tech safety audit.