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Coercive control describes an ongoing and multi-pronged strategy, with tactics that include manipulation, humiliation, isolation, financial abuse, and stalking. It can also include mental, physical or sexual abuse of the victim. The perpetrator’s actions are carried out in clever increasing and intensifying increments. This insidious and calculated controlled assault on the victims are often described as “death by a thousand cuts."

• ·Being isolated from your family and friends.
• Being deprived of your basic needs (i.e. Food, medication and comfort).
• Being financially deprived of your own money, and having to account for the money you do spend.
• Losing control of your everyday life (i.e. where you go, whom you can see, what you wear, what you can buy, etc.).
• Being threatened with violence if you do not behave in a certain way (i.e. how you clean the house, cook the meals, perform in the bedroom, etc.).
• Controlling your reproductive choices and sexual health (i.e. forbid the use of contraception from protecting you from STD’s or unwanted pregnancy, etc.).
• Being controlled as to where you work, and what type of work you do.
• Being stopped from working or going to school/college/university, etc.
• Having no authority over your accounts.
• Controlling everything within the household (i.e. deeds of the house, telephone, utilities, passport, etc.).
• Monitoring your activities, movements and communication (i.e. emails, social media, spyware on mobile phone & computer, etc.).
• Threatening to publish information about you to everybody, the police and authorities.
• Insisting you answer their phone calls within a certain number of rings.
• Being deprived of sleep.
• Subjected to constant criticism, humiliation, intimidation and degrading name-calling.
• Being repeatedly put down, telling you that you are worthless.
• Enduring mental, emotional, physical and sexual violence.
• Having your property or household damaged.
• Forcing you to be part of their criminal activities or child abuse.
• Threatening to harm or kill you and your children.

These are just a few examples of coercive control tactics, but the list is endless. This subjugation of the victim occurs against a background of entitlement and inequality.

• "Disturbing the peace of the other party” refers to conduct that, based on the totality of the circumstances, destroys the mental or emotional calm of the other party. This conduct may be committed directly or indirectly, including through the use of a third party, and by any method or through any means including, but not limited to, telephone, online accounts, text messages, internet-connected devices, or other electronic technologies. This conduct includes, but is not limited to, coercive control, which is a pattern of behavior that in purpose or effect unreasonably interferes with a person’s free will and personal liberty.