Safety. Satisfaction. Self-Determination.  

For decades, domestic violence survivors have shared that these are the aspects of their life targeted by domestic violence perpetrators. Until recently, it was primarily the attacks on physical  safety that were reflected in the domestic violence laws across the world.   Slowly , with the passage of coercive control laws in a few countries,  survivors are seeing their wider reality reflected in legislation. Coercive control,  as definition of domestic violence, is now being considered from Australia to the United States.  Coercive control, which has been at the center of the Safe & Together Model's perpetrator pattern-based approach for 15 years,  stresses patterns of behavior that  lead to entrapment and  restrict the fundamental rights of the adult and child survivors. 

The laws that are being considered are far from uniform in their scope and sensitivity to the issues including preventing backlash against survivors, particularly survivors from poor and marginalized communities.  Because Scotland's coercive control law is considered one of the most progressive in the world,  David and Ruth interviewed  Dr. Marsha Scott , the executive for Scottish Woman's Aid .  The interview includes: 

• A discussion of the framing and development of the law
• How the law differs from other efforts
• The importance of the inclusion of children and pets in the defintion of patterns
• How a "reasonable person" standard helps keep the focus on the perpetrator's pattern 
• The importance of implementation planning  
• The importance of getting input from survivors as part of the process of developing coercive control laws and
• How to avoid coercive control laws rebounding against survivors from all backgrounds.

Read the Scottish Law
Check out  Scottish Women's Aid's website
Listen to our interview with Jess Hill on coercive control laws
Listen to our interview with Luke and Ryan Hart, major supporters of coercive control law
Listen our episode on coercive control and consent

Send us a text

Now available! Mapping the Perpetrator’s Pattern: A Practitioner’s Tool for Improving Assessment, Intervention, and Outcomes The web-based Perpetrator Pattern Mapping Tool is a virtual practice tool for improving assessment, intervention, and outcomes through a perpetrator pattern-based approach. The tool allows practitioners to apply the Model’s critical concepts and principles to their current case load in real

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