Legal and Justice

The criminalization of coercive control is one of the most significant developments in domestic abuse law of the past decade — and one of the most unevenly implemented. England and Wales led the way in 2015. Scotland followed with broader legislation in 2018. Ireland enacted the Domestic Violence Act in 2019. Australia’s New South Wales introduced a standalone offense in 2024. In the United States, Hawaii and Connecticut have enacted coercive control laws, with active legislative efforts underway in additional states. Globally, the picture remains fragmented — and the gap between legislation existing and legislation being effectively enforced remains significant in every jurisdiction.

This section covers the legal landscape of coercive control: how it is defined in law, where it is criminalized, how it is prosecuted, how evidence is gathered and presented, and how survivors can navigate legal and institutional systems that were not always built to recognize non-physical patterns of abuse. It draws on the Global Coercive Control Legislation Index — the first systematic index of its kind on the web, established in 2020 and updated as legislation evolves — and on Manya Wakefield’s specialist knowledge of coercive control dynamics in family law and criminal proceedings.

For survivors navigating the family court system or criminal proceedings involving coercive control, a legal strategy advisory is available through recovery coaching.