The Cook Government has said its family and domestic violence campaigns are having a significant impact across Western Australia, with new data showing millions of Western Australians have been reached by initiatives designed to expose and prevent coercive control.
A growing understanding of coercive control
Launched more than a year ago, the Coercion Hurts aims to deliver a clear message: it doesn’t have to be physical: coercive control is family and domestic violence.
Since its release, the campaign’s message has appeared more than 27 million times across catch-up television, online video, social media, digital audio, and search platforms.
The latest campaign phase expands the conversation, highlighting less visible forms of abuse such as financial restriction, gaslighting, tracking, intimidation, and the gradual erosion of self-esteem. These behaviours, often used to isolate and dominate a partner, have been at the centre of recent public education and legal reform discussions across Australia.
Campaigns tailored for Aboriginal and multicultural communities
A parallel campaign, A Story That’s Not Ours, continues to reach Aboriginal audiences across the State, delivering its message – coercive control is family violence and not part of our culture – more than 8 million times through radio, regional television, social media, and digital displays in Aboriginal health clinics.
The initiative now includes new online content, such as a Nyangumarta-language video, extending the campaign’s reach to speakers of five Aboriginal languages.
The State Government’s online family and domestic violence hub has also expanded, with culturally inclusive materials designed to help Aboriginal communities access information and support safely and respectfully.
To ensure accessibility for culturally and linguistically diverse audiences, a new suite of animated videos in ten languages including Arabic, Cantonese, Hazaragi, Italian, Karen, Korean, Mandarin, Punjabi, Thai and Vietnamese has been added. These complement existing resources in 32 languages.
Whole-of-community effort
Premier Roger Cook said the campaigns play a critical role in challenging harmful myths and deepening public understanding of coercive control.
“Every phase of this campaign brings us closer to a community that not only understands coercive control but stands against it,” he said.
“Ending family and domestic violence is a whole-of-community effort, and these education campaigns are one of many initiatives the WA Government has invested in to help achieve that goal.”
Prevention of Family and Domestic Violence Minister Jessica Stojkovski said expanding the campaigns’ reach was essential to ensuring that all Western Australians can recognise coercive control and seek help.
“Coercive control is a serious form of abuse that can be difficult to recognise because it doesn’t leave physical scars,” Ms Stojkovski said.
“This phase deepens public understanding and empowers people to speak up, support others and seek help — regardless of their language or background.”
Learn more
Resources and campaign materials are available at wa.gov.au/coercivecontrol and wa.gov.au/familyviolence.
