The sociological literature on domestic abuse shows that it is more complex than a series of
physical assaults. Abusers use" coercive control" to subjugate their partners through a web
of threats, humiliation, isolation, and demands. The presence of coercive control is highly
predictive of future physical violence and is, in and of itself, also a violation of the victim's
liberty and dignity. In response to these new understandings the United Kingdom has
recently criminalized nonviolent coercive control, making it illegal to, on two or more …