Public Understanding of Coercive Control in Canada

Coercive control is characterized by an act or patterns of acts that serve to restrict or control someone’s behaviour and actions. In the context of intimate or family relationships, it exists on a continuum of domestic or intimate partner violence. Several countries have added coercive control to their criminal codes (for example, the United Kingdom added it to their Serious Crime Act in 2015). In Canada, Bill C-332 An Act to Amend the Criminal Code has passed the House of Commons and is currently with the Senate for review.

This study has been designed to replicate a similar study conducted in Northern Ireland by Lagdon et al. (2023) to address the gap of national and international evidence on wider public knowledge and understanding of coercive control. Participants will read two scenarios and respond to a series of questions about each scenario.

Data collected through this current project will support and guide best practice in this area, including aiding the development of educational programs and contributions to advocacy efforts to support people who have experienced coercive control.

Broadly, the research question is: what is the Canadian public’s understanding of coercive control? The study will explore the impact of victim gender, perpetrator gender, respondent gender, and the obviousness of behaviours on the public’s attitude towards coercive control behaviours.

This study is actively recruiting a representative sample of people living in Canada aged 17 and over.

To learn more about this project or to volunteer to participate, please email Diana McGlinchey at mcglind@algonquincollege.com