Coercive Control and Intimate Partner Violence
Tracks
Waterfront Room 2
| Friday, October 25, 2024 |
| 2:10 PM - 3:15 PM |
| Waterfront Room 2 |
Details
Stream: BUILD UP INNOVATION: Insights from Research Projects in Remote and Rural Communities
Speaker
Dr Molly Shorthouse
NT Health
Coercive Control and Intimate Partner Violence
Abstract Overview
The Australian Government and state and territory governments now recognise that understanding and identifying coercive control is fundamental to effectively responding to family and domestic violence. In September 2023 the Attorney General’s Department released the “National Principles to Address Coercive Control in Family and Domestic Violence. From July 1st, 2024 Coercive Control is a criminal offense in NSW and QLD, with other states and territories expected to follow.
Previously the legal and health perspectives on DV (and their education approaches) focussed on discrete, single episodes of (usually) physical harm. However coercive control is a “pattern perpetrators exert power and dominance over victim-survivors using patterns of abusive behaviors over time that create fear and deny liberty and autonomy.
Amnesty International has classified Coercive Control as torture.
The NSW Domestic Violence Death Review Team found about 97% of intimate partner domestic violence homicides in NSW between 2000 and 2018 were preceded by the perpetrator using coercive control towards the victim.
It has been identified that the limited or incomplete understanding of coercive control within society, including health professionals, has created a situation in which attitudes and behaviours may condone, minimise or excuse coercive control acts of family violence. In addition, it is now recognised that Perpetrators frequently engage in ‘systems abuse’ and manipulate health and legal services to facilitate ongoing abuse towards the victim.
Coercive control can be difficult to identify. Perpetrators can be good at hiding their behaviour from others. Their abuse is often subtle and targeted at the victim-survivor. Some victim-survivors may not realise they are being abused. They may not know that non-physical abuse is also family and domestic violence. Perpetrators frequently trick victim-survivors into doubting their own experiences or blame them for the abuse.
It is imperative that health practitioners are across the depth of knowledge required to assist the victim-survivors they are likely to encounter on a weekly, if not daily, basis in their primary care, Emergency or Hospital-based practice. Coercive Control is not just an issue relating to mental health, as it is known that Intimate partner violence contributes to more death, disability and illness in women aged 15–44 than any other preventable risk factor, including sitting, smoking and obesity. We also know that children and young people can experience the physical, emotional, psychological, social and financial impacts that adult victim-survivors do.
Today there are over 700 medical mums experiencing coercive control abusive relationships. Many of us did not realise the abuse for years, sometimes decades, such is the insidious nature of the patterns of psychological abuse employed by the Abuser. Many of these medical mums choose to remain anonymous for safety and legal reasons. However, a small group of us have decided it is time to come forward, as the statistics show that many of you in the audience may already be in such a relationship, and many others are blissfully unaware that you are in fact, targets of the types of men or women who are in fact, perpetrators.
Today, two of us will describe our stories, and outline the key factors all doctors must know to support their patients. We aim to stop our junior colleagues falling into the same traps we did, and to educate all doctors on how to help your patients in what is ultimately, the most serious threat to their health yet the most under recognised.
Previously the legal and health perspectives on DV (and their education approaches) focussed on discrete, single episodes of (usually) physical harm. However coercive control is a “pattern perpetrators exert power and dominance over victim-survivors using patterns of abusive behaviors over time that create fear and deny liberty and autonomy.
Amnesty International has classified Coercive Control as torture.
The NSW Domestic Violence Death Review Team found about 97% of intimate partner domestic violence homicides in NSW between 2000 and 2018 were preceded by the perpetrator using coercive control towards the victim.
It has been identified that the limited or incomplete understanding of coercive control within society, including health professionals, has created a situation in which attitudes and behaviours may condone, minimise or excuse coercive control acts of family violence. In addition, it is now recognised that Perpetrators frequently engage in ‘systems abuse’ and manipulate health and legal services to facilitate ongoing abuse towards the victim.
Coercive control can be difficult to identify. Perpetrators can be good at hiding their behaviour from others. Their abuse is often subtle and targeted at the victim-survivor. Some victim-survivors may not realise they are being abused. They may not know that non-physical abuse is also family and domestic violence. Perpetrators frequently trick victim-survivors into doubting their own experiences or blame them for the abuse.
It is imperative that health practitioners are across the depth of knowledge required to assist the victim-survivors they are likely to encounter on a weekly, if not daily, basis in their primary care, Emergency or Hospital-based practice. Coercive Control is not just an issue relating to mental health, as it is known that Intimate partner violence contributes to more death, disability and illness in women aged 15–44 than any other preventable risk factor, including sitting, smoking and obesity. We also know that children and young people can experience the physical, emotional, psychological, social and financial impacts that adult victim-survivors do.
Today there are over 700 medical mums experiencing coercive control abusive relationships. Many of us did not realise the abuse for years, sometimes decades, such is the insidious nature of the patterns of psychological abuse employed by the Abuser. Many of these medical mums choose to remain anonymous for safety and legal reasons. However, a small group of us have decided it is time to come forward, as the statistics show that many of you in the audience may already be in such a relationship, and many others are blissfully unaware that you are in fact, targets of the types of men or women who are in fact, perpetrators.
Today, two of us will describe our stories, and outline the key factors all doctors must know to support their patients. We aim to stop our junior colleagues falling into the same traps we did, and to educate all doctors on how to help your patients in what is ultimately, the most serious threat to their health yet the most under recognised.
Biography
Molly is a Senior Rural Generalist with NT Health, who has spent the majority of her 20 years in medical practice in remote Australia, predominantly in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health. Molly was the first ACRRM Fellow with an AST in Mental health, and contributed to writing the ACRRM Family Violence Modules in 2016, whilst in the midst of abuse occurring in the privacy of her home. She is Chair of ACRRM’s Mental health AST Advisory Group, and Director on the national GP Mental Health Standards Collaboration (GPMHSC) Board. Molly has been Keynote Speaker at WONCA Cairns and a number of RMA Conferences, including speaking to the Parliamentary Breakfast session in Canberra on Rural and Remote mental health. Molly is a victim-survivor, and after a period of severe PTSD and trauma she is now no longer ashamed to admit her personal journey. Instead, she is directing her energy into helping others, both colleagues and victim-survivors everywhere.
Dr Aleeta Fejo
Co-presenter
Biography
Dr Aleeta Fejo, is the first home-grown Northern Territory Aboriginal Fellow of the RACGP and a traditional owner and elder of Larrikia people. She studied with Molly at Flinders University and has spent the majority of her 20 years specialized in Rural and remote Medicine and Indigenous health in the NT and WA. She is the author of a book “Shattering stereotypes: experiences of Australian and Canadian First Nation general practitioners and family doctors” and has been keynote speaker at a number of conferences, plus played an integral role in a youtube and facebook campaign to get her people vaccinated during COVID. Aleeta survived 2 husbands and 38 years of abuse with subsequent PTSD and Takotsubo MI. Aleeta believes the Doctors Against Violence medical mum group “bring strength of knowledge, determination, and a wisdom that has been created by going through fire”.
