The NSW Government is expanding its coercive control education campaign in a bid to increase awareness of domestic abuse, particularly among younger people.
The “It’s not love, it’s coercive control” campaign will now run across YouTube, Instagram and TikTok, targeting people aged between 16 and 40. Sponsored content will also appear on popular podcasts, while a digital, radio and podcast takeover on NITV will extend the campaign’s reach into Aboriginal communities.
The campaign was first launched in June 2024 ahead of the introduction of NSW’s coercive control laws. Independent research found understanding of coercive control increased from one in three people before the campaign to one in two after it launched.
Coercive control is a pattern of behaviour designed to dominate and control another person and can include intimidation, isolation and threats. In NSW, coercive control against a current or former intimate partner is a criminal offence.
Since the laws commenced, NSW Police have recorded 473 incidents of coercive control and laid 22 charges. In the Hunter Valley (excluding Newcastle), there were 46 incidents recorded between July 2024 and December 2025, a rate 2.7 times the NSW ratio (the ratio to NSW is a comparison of the rate per 100,000 population of each region to the NSW rate per 100,000 population. A ratio of one indicates parity with the NSW rate.)
