It’s out there!  I launched my new “Recognising Coercive Control” online toolkit on the 30th of November 2022, on day 6 of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-based Violence.  The launch was held in my home town of Geraldton, and there was a great turnout, with both in-person and virtual attendees.  The support for the toolkit has been positive, and it is encouraging to see the interest in raising awareness of this critical topic.

I have spent 2022 completing the research and content writing for the toolkit.  During 2023, I aim to promote it more widely across Western Australia and beyond and establish partners to pilot the resources.  It’s a 2-year project, but ultimately, I aim to develop an evidence base of coercive control resources over the long term.

Why is it important to raise awareness of the signs of coercive control?

There are many reasons - raising awareness is a prevention and early intervention strategy.  My initial thinking came from recognising that women weren’t always aware of the coercive controlling behaviours of their partners in their new relationships.  Often others close to them could sense that ‘something wasn’t quite right’ but couldn’t pinpoint precisely what due to the subtle signs of these coercive controlling tactics by the partners.

Women often don’t recognise the early signs of coercive control, a defining feature of domestic and family violence.  As a result, women’s human rights are limited, including loss of agency, autonomy, sense of safety, and independence and they become entrapped with their abuser.

Proposed project outcomes

The online toolkit project aims to create an evidence base of coercive control resources that increase women’s awareness of signs of coercive control, resulting in earlier help-seeking.  I intend to work alongside partners interested in piloting the resources in 2023.  Partners are vital to increasing the visibility of the resources to women across Western Australia.  The more visibility, the more awareness is possible.

Partners will also be asked to participate in an evaluation process during 2023, which won’t be onerous (possibly a six-month and end-of-year survey or interview).  It’s essential that I find out what works and what doesn’t and continuously adapt.  The toolkit’s initial resources are just the beginning, and I’m fully aware I need to expand it with more resources for specific population groups.  This is something I can’t do without partners working alongside me.

And, of course, I want the resources to be effective in raising awareness of coercive control for women, and they are linked to support services as a result. 

Would you be interested in learning more about partnering?

Groups and organisations interested in partnering to pilot the resources can find out more by emailing me at hello@theorangestory.com.au

I will have a partner information sheet and a community awareness-raising planner on my website early next year that outlines how you can use the resources in your group or organisation.  Sign up for my mailing list (go to the link on this website), so you receive a notification when available. 

I will also run a free webinar on the 3rd of February 2022, at 10 am AWST, where I will showcase the various resources.  I will outline how to use the resources so you can plan out what is best suited for your audience or service users.  If you have staff working in social media or marketing, education, health promotion, or prevention projects, I recommend that they attend along with other key staff who want to find out more. 

 To book the webinar, please go to this link https://events.humanitix.com/pilot-partners-how-to-use-the-recognising-coercive-control-online-toolkit

All the resources are FREE to use, and you can access the online toolkit by signing up here.

The “Recognising Coercive Control” Online Toolkit has been made possible by the Stella Giles Award for Achievement, Soroptimists International Western Australia.