UK coercive control laws should be expanded beyond intimate relationships to include religious groups and organizations
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/profile/barbara-speed. "‘If my boyfriend did what my pastor did, I believe police could investigate’. The campaign to close a serious gap in UK law | Barbara Speed | The Guardian." March 31, 2026. www.theguardian.com
The Gist
The author argues that UK laws against controlling and manipulative behavior should apply to religious groups and organizations, not just romantic relationships. She believes the current law creates an unfair double standard where the same harmful controlling behaviors are illegal between partners but perfectly legal when done by religious leaders or group organizers.
Conclusion
The UK's coercive control laws, currently limited to intimate and family relationships, should be expanded to cover coercive behavior in religious groups, cults, and other organizations
Premises
- Coercive control behaviors (psychological abuse, isolation, financial control, threats) occur in religious groups and organizations just as they do in intimate relationships
- Current law creates an arbitrary distinction where identical controlling behaviors are criminal in romantic relationships but legal in group settings
- Victims of group-based coercive control have no legal recourse and police cannot investigate even when presented with clear evidence of controlling behavior
- England and Wales pioneered coercive control legislation in 2015, demonstrating legal innovation in this area, but the law has a significant gap
- Experts estimate 2,000 cults operate in the UK, indicating this is not a fringe issue but affects substantial numbers of people
- The 2015 domestic coercive control law has successfully raised awareness and increased reporting, suggesting similar benefits would occur with expanded legislation
- Survivors of group-based coercive control unanimously support legal change and report that control was often the most damaging aspect of their experience
Assumptions
- Coercive control is inherently harmful regardless of the relationship context in which it occurs
- Legal recognition of harmful behavior helps both victims and society understand and address the problem
- The mechanisms of coercive control are fundamentally similar whether exercised by intimate partners or group leaders
- Expanding the law would not create unmanageable enforcement problems or infringe on legitimate religious freedom