Public awareness in Australia about coercive control in the context of intimate partner relationships

Coercive control (CC) involves an ongoing pattern of behaviour that can occur within intimate partner violence with the aim of controlling, containing, or compelling a person, with deleterious long‐term effects. This study addresses an evidence gap using Lagdon, Jordan, Devine, Tully, Armour and Shannon (2023: Journal of Family Violence 38, no. 1: 39–50) methodological approach to assess the Australian public awareness about CC. Participants reviewed two gendered CC scenarios, one more obvious and one less obvious, rated their agreement towards ten opinion statements, and answered if they had heard of the term ‘coercive control’. Binary logistic regression assessed predictors of CC awareness and split‐plot analysis of covariance models assessed agreement to opinion statements by CC obviousness and victim gender. Findings indicated that reporting low awareness of CC (42%; n = 152) was more likely among respondents aged 18–24 years ( p < 0.001) and among those who did not complete high school ( p < 0.001), and less likely among those living in non‐metropolitan locations ( p < 0.001) and among those earning a low income ( p = 0.009). There was stronger agreement ( p < 0.001) with statements for obvious CC, indicating respondents' difficulty identifying subtle behavioural patterns and male victim‐survivor experiences. Findings highlight the need for education campaigns that increase CC awareness, to facilitate early identification of less obvious CC and mitigate adverse long‐term effects.