Coercive control: The women killed by abusive partners

A new study, seen exclusively by BBC News, reveals the extent of coercive and controlling behaviour in cases where victims are killed by their current or ex-partners. Experts say organisations, including the police, NHS and social services, need to better understand the problem and intervene in abusive relationships earlier.

Gary Price says his mother, Marion, went from being a "bubbly" person to a "shell of a woman" during her abusive and controlling marriage.

"He [her ex-husband] would control what she spent her money on," Gary says. "He gradually ground her down and tried to encourage her to leave work so eventually it would just be her and him and she wouldn't be able to leave."

After the relationship ended, Marion's family came to realise how controlling her ex-husband, Michael Reader, had been.

"We found out he was using a tracking device," Gary says. "She was dropping some shopping off for her mum and he was waiting at the top of the street."

In 2019, Marion was followed to her home by her estranged husband, who then shot her dead while she was still in the car. "As she pulled into her drive he pulled up alongside her and shot her through the window," Gary says. "She hadn't even taken her seatbelt off."

Reader was found guilty of her murder and is serving a life sentence.

Coercive and controlling behaviour - which is a pattern of psychological abuse and intimidation used to harm and frighten a victim - has been a criminal offence in the UK since 2015. It often occurs alongside other forms of domestic abuse.

New research, seen exclusively by BBC News, looked at the link between coercive control and murder.

A Manchester Metropolitan University study analysed more than 300 domestic homicide reviews in England and Wales, between 2012 and 2018.

In cases where victims had been killed by their current or ex-partner, academics found more than half had experienced coercive and controlling behaviour in the relationship.

Professor Khatidja Chantler, who led the study, says the research shows authorities need to do more "to identify, recognise and intervene" when there is domestic abuse in a relationship.

And there are concerns coercive control is under reported.

BBC News and YouGov carried out a separate poll of more than 3,300 men and women across the UK and asked whether they had personally experienced coercive control defined in the survey as "an act or a pattern of acts of assault, threats, humiliation and intimidation or other abuse that is used to harm, punish, or frighten" someone.

The results suggest a third of women aged 25 to 64 had experienced some form of coercive and controlling behaviour - with 23% of women aged 18-24 and 15% of all men surveyed saying the same.

Almost half of the women surveyed said they had experienced psychological or emotional abuse.

Mia, not her real name, says even though her ex-partner was coercive and controlling when they were together, she didn't realise what is happening at the time. She says she didn't piece together all the things he was doing until later.

One of the biggest issues for her was economic abuse, Mia says. Her partner moved into her home and started to carry out significant renovations, which she says he would use as a way to control her life by stopping and starting work depending on how he felt about their relationship.

"If I didn't do what he wanted, there would always be this hideous, bad atmosphere," she says. She says what started as controlling behaviour and verbal abuse escalated after the birth of her child with her ex-partner.

"There was extreme name-calling and death threats. Then one day he attacked me and it was only when my doctor asked how things were at home that the situation changed. They said to pack an emergency bag for me and my baby and put me in touch with a refuge."

Mia now lives alone with her child. And while she says she feels safe, her ex-partner continues to try and exert control over her life. "Before I met this man I had savings, a house and a good job," she told the BBC. "Even though we've split, the abuse continues. It's relentless."

Annual data shows that prosecuting coercive control remains difficult for police forces. Despite 33,954 offences being recorded by police in England and Wales in the year ending March 2021 there were only 373 convictions in the same period.

Farah Nazeer, chief executive of Women's Aid, told the BBC prosecutions remain "disappointingly low" seven years after it first became a criminal offence.

She says BBC News survey reflects the charity's own research and believes coercive control "continues to be a largely misunderstood and underreported crime".

"It is vital that police officers and prosecutors truly understand coercive control as the backbone of domestic abuse and its damaging, life-long impact on survivors and their children," she added.

A government spokesperson told the BBC that "strengthening the multi-agency response" to deal with coercive control "is our priority". "We are supporting frontline services to better identify and respond to domestic abuse, including coercive control and emotional abuse."

Meanwhile, Gary says he hopes his mother's death will highlight the dangers of coercive control.

"If someone sees this and realises there is a pattern in their own relationship, or they can see it happening to [someone else] I want them to realise coercive control is serious and it can end in tragedy."

If you've been affected by domestic abuse or controlling behaviour, help and support is available via the BBC Action Line.

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