Lack of police knowledge on coercive control leads to victim-survivors of VAWG being treated as offenders

31st July 2026Sarah Gibbons, Contributing Editor, Policing Insight

Victim-survivors of violence against women and girls regularly find themselves treated as offenders, according to new research from the Centre for Women’s Justice, with issues such as a culture of disbelief, a lack of understanding of domestic abuse and coercive control, a failure to implement a trauma-informed response, and discrimination against marginalised women all contributing to injustice for victim-survivors and lack of trust, reports Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons.

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Lack of police knowledge on coercive control leads to victim-survivors of VAWG being treated as offenders

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