00:00Coercive control can feel like walking on eggshells.
00:04Food, finances, sex, exercise and communications are controlled
00:08and a victim is isolated from loved ones.
00:11Identifying it can be difficult.
00:13Coercive control where one person systematically
00:17takes over another person's life and controls it
00:22and tells them what they can and can't do.
00:24Dr Pittman has worked with police,
00:26training them to spot its subtleties.
00:28The signs to look out for are who is dominating that relationship?
00:35Who is more fearful as opposed to dramatic and loud and indignant?
00:42Every jurisdiction bar South Australia confirmed
00:45it is already providing similar training or soon will.
00:48Governments have also turned their attention to the issue
00:51and last year all states and territories agreed
00:53on a set of national principles.
00:55The Commonwealth has already legislated some time back
00:59to include coercive control as part of family violence
01:04under the Family Law Act and states and territories are now moving.
01:09In New South Wales and Queensland,
01:11coercive control is now a stand-alone criminal offence.
01:14South Australia is working on similar draft laws
01:17and Western Australia is taking a phased approach,
01:20strengthening the response system before making it an offence.
01:23While in the ACT, Victoria, the Northern Territory and Tasmania,
01:27it's included under family violence laws,
01:29meaning a family violence order can be sought.
01:32The federal government recently released coercive control fact sheets.
01:36Once people have got information,
01:38once people have been given resources to recognise it,
01:43it's more likely that we're going to be able to prevent it.
01:46Age appropriate information is also being delivered to school students
01:49but experts warn more education is needed.
01:52Evidence shows that for a respectful relationships education
01:55to reach its full potential to be driving change,
01:58it needs to be about everything that's happening in the school.
02:02Playing the long game on an insidious issue.
