Making psychological violence visible. Anchoring it in law.
What has been a criminal offence in the UK since 2015 remains non-existing in German law: coercive control – systematic, psychologically manipulative behaviour through which one person gains lasting control over another, isolates them, instils fear, or creates economic dependence.
In the UK, this form of psychological violence is recognised as a distinct criminal offence under the term Controlling or Coercive Behaviour (Section 76 SCA 2015). The law protects people in intimate partnerships and sends a clear message: control and coercion can be profoundly harmful – even without physical violence.
Coercive control does not only occur in relationships. People can be systematically manipulated, isolated, and stripped of autonomy in spiritual communities, authoritarian family systems, conspiracy groups, or so-called ‘therapies’. The consequences are severe: fear, identity loss, economic dependence – and often, complete alienation from one’s own life.
We are working on launching a petition for legal reform in Germany – inspired by the British model, but taking it further: moving away from a purely couple-based approach towards a comprehensive protection against psychological violence in all its forms.