Behaviour change agency Khemistry has unveiled its latest campaign for the Queensland Government, aimed at raising awareness about coercive control. The campaign, titled “See the Patterns”, focuses on educating the public about the signs of coercive control, an underpinning dynamic of domestic and family violence that is often hard to identify.
Coercive control is an ongoing pattern of abusive behaviours – which doesn’t always include physical violence – used against a person to control or dominate them. It creates a climate of fear, humiliation, isolation and dependence.
“Right now, only 2 in 5 Australians know what coercive control is. We were truly honoured and committed to doing our part in supporting the protection of Queenslanders by helping bystanders and victim-survivors trust their gut in what they may be seeing or feeling,” said Jo Millington, general manager.
The Department of Justice and Attorney-General said the campaign is part of a broader program of work to better prevent, address and respond to domestic and family violence, ensuring safer and more informed communities.
The campaign highlights different abusive behaviours, like stalking and financial, psychological or emotional abuse. It shows how the community can recognise the signs of coercive control and demonstrates how the behaviours can be subtle and escalate over time.
The campaign aims to raise awareness of coercive control and its impacts among Queenslanders and to inform the community of the upcoming legislative changes to criminalise coercive control. The standalone offence of coercive control commences on 26 May 2025 and carries a maximum penalty of 14 years imprisonment.
“While physical violence is called out, as a society we tend to overlook or minimise coercive control behaviours by using language like ‘protective’ or ‘worried’ to describe the behaviours of the person using violence. Disrupting that apathy was key to getting Queenslanders to take notice,” said Kelly Brightwell, executive strategy director.
“This wasn’t the place for analogies – countless women are in danger because they may not recognise the seriousness of the situation they’re in. The behaviour follows a pattern that’s easier to identify if you know what to look for, so clear, hard-hitting creative was paramount,” said ECD Brent Liebenberg.
The campaign, which launched on 24 August, is a fully integrated initiative running across TV, social, print, convenience, cinema, radio and digital across Queensland.
