Coercive Control: This Abuse is Almost A Crime In Canada

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A Legal Breakthrough for Survivors of Invisible Abuse

For too long, survivors of domestic violence were told that unless they were bruised or bleeding, it didn’t count.
No charges. No protection. No justice.

Now, Canada is on the edge of a legal revolution.

Bill C-332, which seeks to criminalize coercive control, has passed the House of Commons with unanimous support. It is now under review by the Senate. When passed, this bill will finally recognize that emotional, psychological, and financial abuse are not just damaging — they are criminal.

While coercive control is not yet a criminal offence, the momentum is clear: change is coming — and it matters for every survivor who has ever been told their trauma didn’t count.

This is not just a legal change. It’s a validation of everything you lived through.

What Is Coercive Control?

Coercive control is a deliberate and repeated pattern of domination, designed to strip away your freedom, independence, and identity — without physical violence ever being necessary.

It is the calculated use of fear, manipulation, surveillance, shame, and control to break someone down from the inside out.

It may include:

  • Constant monitoring or surveillance of your phone, messages, or location
  • Isolation from family, friends, or support networks
  • Controlling finances or sabotaging employment
  • Gaslighting — making you question your memory or sanity
  • Threats to take away children, pets, your home, or your life
  • Punishments for perceived disobedience — silent treatment, rage, withholding affection
  • Setting rules that change constantly, so you always fail
  • Blaming you for everything and denying any wrongdoing

Coercive control is often the precursor to physical violence and intimate partner homicide, but many survivors live in fear without ever being hit — and that fear is real.

The Current Legal Status in Canada

🏛️ Where the Law Stands Today

  • In June 2024, Bill C-332 passed all three readings in the House of Commons, a major step toward making coercive control a criminal offence.
  • As of now, it is being reviewed by the Senate and has not yet received Royal Assent.
  • Until the Senate passes the bill and it becomes law, coercive control is not a criminal charge in Canada.
  • However, coercive behaviour is already recognized in family law, particularly in custody and parenting decisions.

What This Means for You Right Now

🔴 In Criminal Law: Not Yet Chargeable — But Soon

Currently:

  • Coercive control cannot be prosecuted as a criminal offence on its own.
  • However, patterns of behaviour that include threats, stalking, harassment, or intimidation may already qualify under other existing offences.

If Bill C-332 becomes law:

  • Police will be able to charge abusers for coercive control alone, even in the absence of physical violence.
  • Survivors will be able to provide evidence of patterns — like isolation, manipulation, surveillance, or financial abuse — as the basis for a criminal case.
  • Convictions would lead to fines, probation, no-contact orders, and possibly jail time.

Until then:

  • Keep documenting your experiences. You may be able to use this evidence if the law passes and becomes retroactively significant in future legal proceedings.

⚖️ In Family Court: Already Recognized as a Form of Abuse

Even before Bill C-332, family law reforms under the Divorce Act (updated in 2021) included coercive and controlling behaviour as part of family violence.

This means:

  • You can already raise coercive control in custody and access decisions.
  • Judges can consider whether a parent’s behaviour makes joint decision-making unsafe.
  • Supervised access, limited contact, or sole custody may be granted when coercive control is shown to be present.
  • You do not need a criminal charge to raise these concerns in family court affidavits or motions.

💔 In Divorce and Financial Proceedings: Patterns Matter

Financial and emotional control is often part of coercive abuse, including:

  • Forcing you to quit your job
  • Controlling all bank access or refusing to share income
  • Leaving you dependent or homeless
  • Sabotaging credit, hiding assets, or racking up debt in your name

Judges in family court may already consider this behaviour under:

  • Unequal division of property
  • Spousal support based on lost earnings
  • Exclusive possession of the home
  • Orders to freeze or disclose assets

If the criminal law passes, this strengthens your position — but even now, family law allows financial abuse to be considered.

How to Prepare: What You Can Do Now

Even before the bill becomes law, you can protect yourself and start documenting your experience.

✅ Start with a timeline:

  • Record dates, behaviours, and the impact on you
  • Keep texts, emails, screenshots, and call logs
  • Journal how you felt after key events
  • Save records in cloud storage or email backups

✅ Speak to:

  • A family lawyer who understands coercive control
  • A women’s shelter or advocacy group
  • Your doctor or therapist, to record the mental health impacts
  • Your local police, to make an informational statement (optional)

Looking Ahead: What Happens If the Law Passes

If Bill C-332 becomes law:

  • You will be able to report coercive control as a standalone criminal offence
  • Courts may revisit existing family court orders in light of criminal findings
  • Judges will have clear legal guidance to recognize psychological and financial abuse
  • Survivors may gain new options for protection, custody, and justice

You Were Always Right. Now the Law Is Catching Up.

You don’t have to minimize what happened. You don’t have to wait until it gets worse.
You don’t have to prove physical injury to deserve protection.

The law is finally beginning to recognize what survivors have always known:
Abuse isn’t just what’s done to your body — it’s what’s done to your mind, your freedom, and your life.

Coercive control is on its way to becoming a criminal offence. In the meantime, you are not powerless. You can speak up. You can document. You can fight back — and you can heal.

This means when passed you will no longer have to prove physical harm to protect your child. You can now present the full picture of abuse — and demand safety and stability.

The financial harm caused by coercive control doesn’t disappear — but now, it can almost be legally acknowledged.

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