The Coercive Control Legislation Database | Narcissistic Abuse Rehab

Coercive Control Legislation Global Database

Coercive Control By Oct 30, 2020

Coercive control legislation is a cutting edge tool for law enforcement in domestic abuse prevention. Research has shown that coercive control (also known as intimate terrorism) is the high risk marker for domestic homicide, specifically femicide, filicide, and familicide.

According to the 2018 Global Study on Homicide: Gender-Related Killing of Women and Girls, 50 000 women were killed globally by an intimate partner or family member.

More countries around the world are recognizing that to end the scourge of domestic homicide coercive control must be criminalized.

Please consider taking action in your country by reaching out to your local representatives, informing them about coercive control, and asking for this lifesaving legislation.


Africa

CountryBillStatusSponsorDate
Algeria
Angola
Benin
Botswana
Burkina Faso
Burundi
Cabo Verde
Cameroon
Central African Republic
Chad
Comoros
Congo
Cote d’Ivoire
Djibouti
Egypt
Equatorial Guinea
Eritrea
Eswatini
Ethiopia
Gabon
Gambia
Ghana
Guinea
Guinea-Bissau
Kenya
Lesotho
Liberia
Libya
Madagascar
Malawi
Mali
Mauritania
Mauritius
Morocco
Mozambique
Namibia
Niger
Nigeria
Rwanda
Sao Tome and Principe
Senegal
Seychelles
Sierra Leone
Somalia
South Africa
South Sudan
Sudan
Tanzania
Togo
Tunisia
Uganda
Zambia
Zimbabwe

Asia

CountryBillStatusSponsorDate
Afghanistan
Armenia
Azerbaijan
Bahrain
Bangladesh
Bhutan
Brunei
Cambodia
China
Cyprus
East Timor
Georgia
India
Indonesia
Iran
Iraq
Israel
Japan
Jordan
Kazakhstan
Kuwait
Kyrgystan
Laos
Lebanon
Malaysia
Maldives
Mongolia
Myanmar
Nepal
North Korea
Oman
Pakistan
Palestine
Philippines
Qatar
Russia
Saudi Arabia
Singapore
South Korea
Sri Lanka
Syria
Taiwan
Tajikistan
Thailand
Turkey
Turkmenistan
United Arab Emirates
Uzbekistan
Vietnam
Yemen

Australia

CountriesBillStatusSponsorDate
New South WalesCrimes Legislation Amendment (Coercive Control) Act 2022In ForceJuly 1, 2024
QueenslandCriminal Law (Coercive Control and Affirmative Consent) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2023 (Hannah’s Law)PassedAnnastacia PalaszczukMarch 6, 2024
South Australia
TasmaniaFamily Violence Act (2004)In Force2004
Victoria
Western Australia

Central America

CountriesBillStatusSponsorDate
Belize
Costa Rica
El Salvador
Guatemala
Honduras
Mexico
Nicaragua
Panama

Europe

More than 3000 femicides take place in Europe every year. On June 28, 2023, the European Union ratified The Istanbul Convention, also known as The Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence. Previously , only twenty one (21) member states had ratified it and only six (6) states were in compliance with Article 33: Psychological Violence: “Parties shall take the necessary legislative or other measures to ensure that the intentional conduct of seriously impairing a person’s psychological integrity through coercion or threats is criminalized.”

The Republic of Ireland alone has passed legislation using the term coercive control, which encompasses the entrapment-based nature of this dynamic.

CountryBillStatusSponsorDate
AlbaniaIstanbul Convention: Art. 33In ForceJanuary 8, 2014
AndorraIstanbul Convention: Art. 33In ForceJanuary 8, 2014
ArmeniaIstanbul Convention: Art. 33SingedJanuary 18, 2018
AustriaIstanbul Convention: Art. 33In ForceJanuary 8, 2014
Azerbaijan
BelgiumIstanbul Convention: Art. 33In ForceJanuary 7, 2016
Bosnia and HerzegovinaIstanbul Convention: Art. 33In ForceJanuary 8, 2014
BulgariaIstanbul Convention: Art. 33SignedApril 21, 2016
CroatiaIstanbul Convention: Art. 33In ForceJanuary 10, 2018
CyprusIstanbul Convention: Art. 33In ForceJanuary 10, 2018
Czech RepublicIstanbul Convention: Art. 33SignedFebruary 5, 2016
DenmarkIstanbul Convention: Art. 33In ForceJanuary 8, 2014
EstoniaIstanbul Convention: Art. 33In ForceJanuary 2, 2018
FinlandIstanbul Convention: Art. 33In ForceJanuary 11, 2015
FranceLaw on Violence Against Women Within Couples

Istanbul Convention: Art. 33
Enacted


In Force
September 10, 2010,

January 11, 2014
GeorgiaIstanbul Convention: Art. 33In ForceJanuary 8, 2017
GermanyIstanbul Convention: Art. 33In ForceJanuary 2, 2018
GreeceIstanbul Convention: Art. 33In ForceJanuary 10, 2018
HungaryIstanbul Convention: Art. 33SignedMarch 14, 2014
IrelandDomestic Violence Act 2018, Section 39

Istanbul Convention: Art. 33
Enacted

In Force
2018

January 7, 2019
ItalyIstanbul Convention: Art. 33In ForceJanuary 8, 2014
LatviaIstanbul Convention: Art. 33In ForceJanuary 5, 2024
LiechtensteinIstanbul Convention: Art. 33In ForceJanuary 10, 2021
LithuaniaIstanbul Convention: Art. 33SignedJanuary 6, 2013
LuxembourgIstanbul Convention: Art. 33In ForceJanuary 12, 2018
MaltaIstanbul Convention: Art. 33In ForceJanuary 11, 2014
MonacoIstanbul Convention: Art. 33In ForceJanuary 2, 2015
MontenegroIstanbul Convention: Art. 33In ForceJanuary 8, 2014
NetherlandsIstanbul Convention: Art. 33In ForceJanuary 3, 2016
North MacedoniaIstanbul Convention: Art. 33In ForceJanuary 7, 2018
NorwayIstanbul Convention: Art. 33In ForceJanuary 11, 2017
PolandIstanbul Convention: Art. 33In ForceJanuary 11, 2017
PortugalIstanbul Convention: Art. 33In ForceJanuary 8, 2015
Republic of MoldovaIstanbul Convention: Art. 33In ForceJanuary 5, 2022
RomaniaIstanbul Convention: Art. 33In ForceJanuary 9, 2016
San MarinoIstanbul Convention: Art. 33In ForceJanuary 5, 2016
SerbiaIstanbul Convention: Art. 33In ForceJanuary 8, 2014
Slovak RepublicIstanbul Convention: Art. 33SignedNovember 5, 2011
SloveniaIstanbul Convention: Art. 33In ForceJanuary 6, 2015
SpainIstanbul Convention: Art. 33In ForceJanuary 8, 204
SwedenLaw Against Intimate Partner Violence

Istanbul Convention: Art. 33


In Force
Maj Karlsson
2010

January 11, 2014
SwitzerlandIstanbul Convention: Art. 33In ForceJanuary 4, 2018
TurkeyIstanbul Convention: Art. 33DenouncedMarch 22, 2021
UkraineIstanbul Convention: Art. 33In ForceJanuary 11, 2022
United KingdomIstanbul Convention: Art. 33In ForceJanuary 11, 2022

Middle East

CountryBillStatusSponsorDate
Bahrain
Cyprus
Egypt
Iran
Iraq
Israel
Jordan
Kuwait
Lebanon
Oman
Palestine
Qatar
Saudi Arabia 
Syria
Turkey
The United Arab Emirates
Yemen

North America

Canada

In Bill C-247, Member of Parliament for Esquimalt-Saanich-Sooke Randall Garrison is proposing an amendment to Canada’s Criminal Code “to create an offense of engaging in controlling or coercive conduct that has a significant impact on the person towards whom the conduct is directed, including a fear of violence, a decline in their physical or mental health and a substantial adverse effect on their day-to-day activities.”

CountryBillStatusSponsorDate
Alberta
British Columbia
Manitoba
New Brunswick
Newfoundland and Labrador
Nova Scotia
OntarioBill 207EnactedDoug Downey(circa) March 1, 2021
Prince Edward Island
Quebec
Saskatchewan

Caribbean

CountriesBillStatusSponsorDate
Belize
Costa Rica
El Salvador
Guatemala
Honduras
Mexico
Nicaragua
Panama

United States of America

StateBillStatusSponsorDate
Alaska 
Arizona 
Arkansas 
CaliforniaSB1141EnactedSen. Susan RubioSeptember 29, 2020
Colorado HB21-1099PendingKim Ransom
Dafna Michaelson Jenet
Jim Smallwood
Rachel Zenzinger
2021
Connecticut SB77 (Jennifer’s Law)EnactedSen. Alex Kasser June 28, 2021
Delaware 
Florida HB 781 “Greyson’s Law”
SB 1106
Passed
Pending
Sen. Lori Berman (D-Boca Raton)
Rep. Hillary Cassel (D-Dania Beach)
November 30, 2021
Georgia 
HawaiiHB2425EnactedDavid TarnasSeptember 15, 2020
Idaho 
IllinoisHB1808PendingDagmara Avelar
Stephanie A.
Kifowit
Lindsay LaPointe
February 17, 2021
Indiana 
Iowa 
Kansas
Kentucky 
Louisiana 
Maine 
MarylandHB1352PendingSusan K. McComasFebruary 7, 2020
Massachusetts Bill H.4241PendingSenator John F. KeenanJanuary 10, 2024
Michigan 
Minnesota
Mississippi 
Missouri 
Montana
Nebraska 
Nevada 
New Hampshire 
New Jersey 
New Mexico 
New YorkS5306PendingKevin S. ParkerApril 24, 2019
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon 
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island 
South Carolina HB5271PendingFebruary 20, 2020
South Dakota 
Tennessee 
Texas 
Utah
Vermont H.27EnactedKate DonnallyJanuary 11, 2024
Virginia
WashingtonHB 1901PendingRoger Goodman
Lauren Davis
Jamila Taylor
Shelley Kloba
February 8, 2022
West Virginia 
Wisconsin 
Wyoming

South America

CountryBillStatusSponsorDate
Argentina
Bolivia
Brazil
Chile
Colombia
Ecuador
French Guiana
*Département of France
Guyana
Paraguay
Peru
Suriname
Uruguay
Venezuela

United Kingdom

CountryBillStatusSponsorDate
EnglandSerious Crimes ActEnactedDecember 29, 2015
Northern IrelandBill 03/17-22PendingNaomi Long
ScotlandThe Domestic Abuse ActEnactedMarch 9, 2018
WalesSerious Crimes ActEnactedDecember 29, 2015

Author

Manya Wakefield is a recovery coach specializing in cognitive behavioral therapy and coercive trauma. Her expertise has been featured in publications such as Newsweek, Elle, Cosmopolitan, and Huffington Post. In 2019, she launched the social impact platform Narcissistic Abuse Rehab, building a global audience through human rights advocacy. The same year, she published the book ‘Are You In An Emotionally Abusive Relationship,’ which is used in domestic violence recovery groups around the world. In 2020, Manya developed The Coercive Control Legislation Global Database. She is also the host of The Narcissistic Abuse Rehab Podcast, which is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Amazon.