- WA Government's commitment to reducing family and domestic violence in our State reinforced with launch of second phase of two State-wide campaigns to raise awareness about coercive control
- Each campaign uses unique storytelling techniques for audiences, building on the State Government's extensive work and investment to reduce family and domestic violence
- First phase of campaigns resulted in increased awareness of the warning signs of FDV, coinciding with a rise in the number of calls to helplines
The latest phase of the Western Australian Government's powerful education campaigns aimed at raising awareness of the signs and dangers of coercive control has been launched.
The latest instalment of the education campaigns 'Coercion Hurts' and 'A Story That's Not Ours' will reach even more households across WA.
Developed with insights from victim-survivors, stakeholders and advocates, the campaigns depict scenarios of behaviours that perpetrators use to coercively control their intimate partner, highlighting the subtle yet damaging form of family and domestic violence.
Behaviours such as isolating the person from their family and friends, manipulating them into doubting their reality, monitoring their movements without consent, and restricting access to financial resources are shown in live-action and animation.
With family and domestic violence under-reported in the community, the campaign has raised awareness of the warning signs of coercive control, coinciding with an increase in people seeking support and calling the women's and men's Domestic Violence Helplines.
The emotive 'Coercion Hurts' videos have been displayed on social media more than 7.85 million times. The animated videos in four Aboriginal languages in the 'A Story That's Not Ours' campaign, which used cultural storytelling techniques, were displayed more than 2 million times in a three-month period.
In addition, a coercive control and family and domestic violence online hub providing important resources for victim-survivors, perpetrators and the public has been viewed almost 178,000 times by people seeking to learn more about recognising the signs, searching for helpful resources and finding out where to go for help.
The hub also offers valuable coercive control resources such as an easy read booklet for low literacy audiences, a culturally safe webpage for Aboriginal audiences, posters and social tiles in 36 languages, fact sheet, videos on coercive control, and visual content such as infographics to support learning and awareness.
The launch of the second phase of the campaigns comes ahead of National Domestic and Family Violence Remembrance Day on Wednesday 7 May.
The campaigns are part of the WA Government's ongoing commitment to addressing family and domestic violence, with more than half a billion dollars invested in initiatives since 2017.
They complement work underway to implement the five-year Family and Domestic Violence System Reform Plan 2024 to 2029, which lays the foundation for strengthening responses to family and domestic violence in Western Australia.
Last year, laws were passed to amend the Restraining Orders Act 1997 to include a reference to the patterned nature of coercive control behaviours and their cumulative effect in the definition of family violence.
Phase 2 of the campaigns will be in market across a variety of channels including TV, press, radio, digital and social and out of home.
To see the campaigns and learn more about coercive control, visit wa.gov.au/coercivecontrol and wa.gov.au/familyviolence
As stated by Premier Roger Cook:
"The WA Government's family and domestic violence campaigns are a crucial part of educating the community about coercive control and the impact it has on a victim-survivor, and sending the message that it is a form of family and domestic violence.
"These campaigns build on the range of systematic and legislative reforms already underway to protect and support victim-survivors and hold perpetrators accountable.
"My government continues to invest in initiatives to prevent family and domestic violence and we're always looking at ways to better protect victim-survivors of family domestic violence and the community."
As stated by Prevention of Family and Domestic Violence Minister Jessica Stojkovski:
"Coercive Control is a term that people in Western Australia are hearing more about and understanding it is a form of family and domestic violence - these two campaigns are playing an important role in achieving that.
"Coercive control is an insidious form of family and domestic violence that takes away a person's freedom and independence and can seriously affect their safety, mental and physical health, employment, relationships, financial security and sense of autonomy - and no one should experience that.
"I am committed to reducing family and domestic violence in Western Australia, and these education campaigns are just one of many ways the WA Government is funding initiatives to address the issue."
