The concept of coercive control is most closely associated with Evan Stark, a sociologist and forensic social worker whose research helped shift understanding of domestic abuse beyond physical violence alone.

When Stark described coercive control as a “liberty crime,” he was making the point that the harm is not only the assaults or threats themselves. The abuse systematically takes away a person’s freedom and autonomy.

Examples of that loss of liberty can include:

• Being afraid to speak freely.
• Having friendships restricted or sabotaged.
• Being monitored through phones, devices, or constant checking.
• Having spending controlled.
• Being criticised or punished for ordinary decisions.
• Feeling unable to leave the house, pursue work, or maintain independence.
• Changing behaviour constantly to avoid conflict or retaliation.

In Stark’s view, the cumulative effect can resemble a form of captivity. A person may appear physically free to outsiders, yet their choices, movements, relationships, finances, and sense of self have become heavily constrained.

This was an important shift in thinking because traditional views of domestic abuse often focused on isolated incidents of violence. Coercive control recognises that a pattern of domination can cause profound harm even when physical assaults are infrequent or absent.

A useful way to think about it is:

Physical Violence Model	Coercive Control Model
Focuses on incidents	Focuses on patterns
“What happened?”	“How much freedom has been taken away?”
Measures injuries	Measures loss of autonomy
Looks at single events	Looks at ongoing behaviour

Many survivors later describe the moment they realised the extent of the abuse not as the worst argument or assault, but as recognising how many everyday freedoms they had gradually surrendered—who they could see, what they could say, how they spent money, where they could go, and how much of their lives revolved around avoiding the abuser’s reactions.

That is the essence of what Stark meant by a “liberty crime”: the gradual erosion of a person’s freedom, dignity, and self-determination through a sustained pattern of control.