Coercive Control : Understanding the Red Flags with Refuge

Thursday 25th May, 2023
Everyman King’s Cross, London

On Thursday 25th May, AnotherWay Now and Refuge hosted a passionate audience at Everyman in Kings Cross for a film and panel discussion, to learn about coercive control and how to support Refuge in their work to end domestic abuse.

Trigger Warning: Domestic Abuse

As our audience took their seats for this event, they heard an anonymous testimony by a young woman who has experience of coercive control early on in a relationship. In this testimony she explained how much of her partner’s early behaviour had not initially been recognized as red flags. 

Once our fully booked audience had all arrived, we watched a short clip kindly provided by the Joanna Simpson Foundation, from the Netflix documentary, ‘When Missing Turns to Murder’, an incredibly powerful and poignant film about the tragic case of Joanna Simpson. In this film, our audience learned how domestic abuse and coercive control can sometimes lead to tragic consequences. This was a truly moving experience for our audience, and we were all motivated to find out - what can we do to make sure there’s #NotAnotherJo.

After the film, Tina Kothari welcomed the expert panel to the stage to tell us of the red flags of coercive control, how to spot them, and most importantly, what to do when we spot them.

The Expert Panel

Moderator: Ranvir Singh (ITV)

Ruth Davison (Refuge)

Hetti Barkworth-Nanton (Refuge, Joanna Simpson Foundation)

Djanomi Headley (Sistah Space)

Our panel explained the specific behaviour that constitutes coercive control, and how to spot these behaviours in our own relationships, and in the relationships of those around us. The panel were compassionate, empathetic and insightful, and our audience heard all about what can be done to support those who may be subject to this red flag behaviour. The audience then had a chance to put their questions to the panel.

Our event came to a close with our expert panel taking the audience through a list of specific Calls To Action that everyone can choose to engage with, to start making their own waves in this fight for human rights.

Need help? Or want to support these incredible organisations?

Please visit:
www.Refuge.org.uk
www.JSFoundation.org.uk
www.SistahSpace.org

Further information on domestic abuse and coercive control can be found on Refuge’s National Domestic Abuse Helpline, by calling 0808 2000 247 (24 hour, freephone)