In an effort to bring attention to the issue of domestic abuse, the government of Western Australia has launched a multimillion-dollar coercive control campaign.
Educating victim-survivors, their loved ones, and even abusers on the warning signs of abuse is the goal of the two-year advertising campaign.
Supporting the $5 million advertising campaign is Sheree Schonian, a survivor of domestic violence.
Schonian was ensnared in a volatile romance at the tender age of sixteen.
“He threatened to throw acid on my face at one time if I ever wanted to leave him, threatened to hurt my family,” according to her.
She managed to leave after more than a decade, but she said it wasn’t always easy to see the indications of controlling someone.
Domestic and family abuse came in many forms for me.
According to her, she endured acts of physical, sexual, emotional, and financial abuse.
“It doesn’t have to be physical” is the slogan of the advertisements that will be broadcast across various media platforms.
Domestic violence and coercive control go hand in hand.
The campaign’s goal is to draw attention to the ways in which tactics like gaslighting, tracking, isolation, and intimidation can instill a feeling of terror.
Despite not having criminalised coercive control like Queensland and New South Wales, Premier Roger Cook has stated that the government is still committed to strengthening laws.
“Coercive control is tracking your partner, it’s isolating them from friends and family it’s taking control of their finances and gaslighting,” according to Cook.
