The warning signs of coercive control as NSW jails first offender
Published By admin
A landmark moment in the fight against domestic abuse has been reached, with the first person in NSW jailed after being found guilty of coercive control — a silent crisis affecting about a quarter of Australian women.
Callum Fairleigh, 34, was sentenced in February to two years’ imprisonment with a non-parole period of 15 months, becoming the first person in NSW to receive jail time under the state’s new coercive control laws after the offence was criminalised in July 2024.
For victim-survivor Samantha, the sentencing was “validating”.
“I felt a sense of relief. I still fight in my mind that I’m dramatic because he kept drilling into my head that what was happening wasn’t so bad,” she said.
“For him to actually get a jail sentence shows it was that bad.”
The conviction marked so much more than justice for Samantha, however.
It represented the first real test of a law designed to address a form of abuse that is difficult to see but can be just as devastating as any other.
But what exactly is coercive control, and, if it is so damaging, why has it taken so long to criminalise it?
Coercive control refers to repeated patterns of abuse used to intimidate, isolate, or dominate an intimate partner, whether through physical violence or psychological manipulation.
The behaviour became a criminal offence in NSW at the start of July 2024.
The law makes it illegal for a person to engage in abusive conduct towards a current or former intimate partner with the intention of coercing or controlling them.
It is designed to capture ongoing patterns of behaviour, not just isolated incidents, recognising that abuse can be subtle, cumulative, and deeply damaging over time.
The offence applies only to conduct that occurred after the law came into effect and carries a maximum penalty of seven years’ imprisonment.
Coercive control can take many forms. It may involve limiting someone’s freedom or controlling their choices, monitoring their movements or communications, harassing or stalking them, or shaming, degrading, and humiliating them.
It can also include isolating a person from friends and family, making threats, using violence or intimidation, and engaging in emotional, financial, or sexual abuse.
Read more https://7news.com.au/sunrise/the-warning-signs-of-coercive-control-as-nsw-jails-first-offender–c-21761401
Content retrieved from: https://7news.com.au/sunrise/the-warning-signs-of-coercive-control-as-nsw-jails-first-offender–c-21761401.
