Program educates multicultural young women about the signs of coercive control in relationships

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Young women are being taught the signs of coercive control amid a rise in family and domestic abuse-related cases. It comes as more Australian states move to outlaw the controlling pattern of behaviour.

Transcript

00:00At a multicultural youth group in Adelaide, young girls and women are sharing experiences,

00:06building friendships and getting involved in the community.

00:09But they're also part of a cohort being educated on how to spot signs somebody may be experiencing

00:15coercive control in a relationship.

00:17One of the examples can be somebody controlling you over how you behave, where you go, what

00:24you're doing and then what kind of decision you're making in your life.

00:28Convincing you that something is OK when it really isn't.

00:32Not being exposed to what you deserve, so you believe something that is much, much lower.

00:38The young women say it's also important to call it out.

00:41Really seek out the help, even if you're going to get your significant other in trouble,

00:46it's really the best thing to do.

00:48The SA government funded the program, which was aimed at young women from linguistically

00:52and culturally diverse backgrounds.

00:55And while abuse can happen to anyone, finding accommodation, obtaining legal advice and

01:00achieving financial independence in times of need can be exacerbated in these communities.

01:05When you're new, you might come to Australia and then you might get into a relationship

01:08and because you're new and you're blindsided by a new country, you know, new people, you

01:13don't really realise that, so I think it was really important.

01:17According to the latest police data, family and domestic violence related incidents have

01:22risen by 15% in South Australia in the past year.

01:25But despite rising rates, the government says it's tackling the issue through calling a

01:29Royal Commission.

01:31The really great thing about the Royal Commission is that it's going to give us an opportunity

01:35to identify any gaps in system service provision.

01:40And the Minister says programs like these aren't about putting the onus on women, they

01:44work alongside programs that aim to help perpetrators with rehabilitation.

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