Discover the most common isolation strategies used by narcissistic people to assert power and control in their relationships.
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.
Virginie Efira advocates for coercive control legislation in France while promoting ‘L’Amour et les Forêts’ (Just The Two of Us).
Melvil Poupaud’s portrayal of a coercive control perpetrator is a tour de force in Just The Two of Us (L’Amour et les Forêts).
The British government has announced that it will give legal status to children born from rape and recognize them as crime victims.
Parent child alienation syndrome is a controversial theory by Dr. Richard A. Gardener that pathologizes children who withdraw from a parent.
The crime of passion defense is often used to protect perpetrators of narcissistic aggression from teh consequences of their acting out.
Luke Mackie, 21, has been jailed for coercive and controlling behavior of two former girlfriends.
Learn the meaning of the legal term domestic violence enhancer that is used in cases of intimate partner violence in Colorado and Wisconsin.
Nearly 1/2 of the incidents of Child/Adolescent to Parent Violence and Abuse in the UK remain unreported due to caregivers’ fear of stigma.
50% of women between the age 18-44 have been targeted for reproductive coercion according to a poll by BBC News.