Coercive control has been illegal since December 2015 yet records of offences have been rising steadily. At the end of March 2020, police recorded 24,856 coercive control offences in England and Wales, a huge rise of more than 50% from the 16,679 recorded the previous year. 

In Women’s Aids latest campaign by Engine, the charity aims to shine a light on the issue of coercive control and highlight that it is not always easy to spot.

The new campaign launches with a film stylised as a TV quiz show named ‘Spot The Abuse’, held live before a cheering studio audience. The quiz features three smiling female contestants; Jade from Bournemouth, Aisha from London and Kate from Hertfordshire; being asked questions about relationships by a gameshow host. 

However, it is apparent from the off that this is no normal quiz as the host launches proceedings with the question: “Your partner often tells you what to wear and gets moody if you don’t agree. Is this normal?” Jade buzzes in quickly, answering: “Yes! Definitely!” to be told by the host: “That’s the wrong answer! It’s actually a kind of controlling behaviour.”  

A second question asks: “Your partner won’t let you have a bank account as he says you’re no good with money. Do you think that’s okay?” with Kate replying “Yes!” only to be told it’s another wrong answer by the host. “This is not usual or normal behaviour in any relationship”, he adds, as the contestants are shown looking increasingly uncomfortable.

The questions and answers highlight that many people are unaware of the signs of coercive control or are in relationships that have normalised abusive behaviour. The two-minute-long spot ends with the call to action: “Many of us struggle to spot the signs of coercive control. What your partner says is normal might not be.” 

“This advert shows that if you are in an abusive relationship, your partner is not going to tell you that it is abusive – and coercive control is still not widely understood, despite being against the law since 2015 in England and Wales.” explains Farah Nazeer, Chief Executive of Women’s Aid, “We hope this advert will raise awareness and start important conversations about controlling behaviour in relationships. Greater awareness and understanding of the behaviours that make up coercive control means that more people will be able to identify it, prevent it and prosecute it.”

The campaign uses the familiar, glossy format of a TV game show to demonstrate the signs of coercive control, lulling audiences into a false sense of security and subverting expectations.

“Educating people about Coercive Control through the lens of a Gameshow is an unusual and powerful juxtaposition.” said Christopher Ringsell, Creative Director at Engine Creative, “The glitzy lights, cheesy soundtrack and shiny world is not the normal place to communicate the harsh realities of domestic abuse but the format is perfect to land questions and answers around controlling behaviours. Many women could be living with this form of abuse without even being aware so hopefully, this jarring and arresting approach will make it memorable and will help women question things that might not be right in their own relationships.”

The thought-provoking advert launched on 25 November, International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and will be pushed out across social channels. The campaign aims to raise awareness that domestic abuse isn’t always physical and that coercive control can happen gradually in a relationship with a pattern of behaviours that you may not initially identify as abusive, but when put together create a web of control. 

To find out more about coercive control please click here.