UK Coercive Control Legislation
Coercive Control in Groups: changing the law
The Family Survival Trust are joining with others in civil society to lead calls for a widening of coercive control legislation to better protect people from the threat of high-control groups, including cults, politically extremist groups and others. This briefing lays out the rationale for approaching the problem through a change in the law, and highlights existing international good practice in tackling these groups.
How to help
Our requests to Parliamentarians:
- Meet with people affected by coercively-controlling groups in your constituency or locality to better understand the impact of these groups
- Get in touch with FST to let us know about your support for the campaign
- Share your concerns within your party and in Parliament more widely, to foster greater understanding of the critical challenge we face
Key Facts
Coercively-controlling groups include religious cults, but can be non-religious, such as political groups (eg some far-right extremist groups), personal development and wellness outfits and yoga groups.
There are also individual examples of this abuse, such as between “therapists” and clients.
People who have grown up in these groups – “second generation adults” – often experience lasting consequences from trauma, missed education and other forms of abuse.
There are far more groups with coercively-controlling characteristics than many believe: one academic estimates as many as 2000 operate in the UK at the moment, some with hundreds or thousands of followers.
People affected by these groups have experienced sexual and physical abuse, financial exploitation and long-term psychological harms affecting mental and physical health
Coercive control laws already recognise the forms of abuse which occur in these groups, but because the laws only apply in domestic and intimate settings it is vanishingly rare to secure a prosecution, leaving abusers free to abuse again
Widening the law to ensure that leaders of groups as well as offenders within domestic contexts could be prosecuted would be a more powerful deterrent against the proliferation and persistence of these groups than other regulatory measures
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you tell the difference between a high control group and an ordinary group?
High-control groups are noticeably more all-pervading in their members’ lives than other groups – such as traditional faith groups or political parties – that allow people to move between periods of more and less intense involvement. Dr Alexandra Stein defines a high control group (“cultic system”) as one made and controlled by a charismatic and authoritarian leader, or leadership body. The group has rigid boundaries, a steep hierarchy and an isolating social system (high-control group members often lose touch with family and old friends). The group is guided by a total, exclusive belief system – new or different ideas aren’t welcome. The leader uses “brainwashing” (properly called “coercive persuasion”) which is designed to isolate and control their followers.
Why the sudden increase in focus?
There have recently been a slew of media stories about high-control groups.
Coronation Street recently introduced a storyline about one such group impacting on one of their characters. Tortoise Media made a six part documentary podcast about a therapist – Anne Craig – who fostered cult-like dynamics with her patients.
This wider awareness combined with the growing understanding of the way in which coercive control plays out within intimate relationships has accelerated the conversation about strategies for curbing these groups.