{"id":12372,"date":"2026-04-07T17:54:26","date_gmt":"2026-04-07T21:54:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jolt.richmond.edu\/?p=12372"},"modified":"2026-04-07T17:54:26","modified_gmt":"2026-04-07T21:54:26","slug":"coercive-control-goes-digital-why-u-s-domestic-violence-law-must-catch-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/jolt\/2026\/04\/07\/coercive-control-goes-digital-why-u-s-domestic-violence-law-must-catch-up\/","title":{"rendered":"Coercive Control Goes Digital: Why U.S. Domestic Violence Law Must Catch Up"},"content":{"rendered":"

Coercive Control Goes Digital: Why U.S. Domestic Violence Law Must Catch Up<\/strong><\/h2>\n

By: Paris Williams<\/p>\n

U.S. domestic violence law was built on a legal framework that prioritized physical harm and visible injury.[1]<\/a> Historically, American courts and law enforcement were reluctant to intervene in domestic matters, citing the sanctity of the home and a constitutional zone of privacy.[2]<\/a> This narrow focus left victims of psychological, economic, and nonphysical abuse without meaningful protection.[3]<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Over time, courts and legislatures began recognizing that intimate partner violence (IPV) is fundamentally about power and control rather than isolated physical assaults.[4]<\/a> IPV encompasses physical violence, sexual violence, stalking, and psychological aggression used to gain or maintain dominance over a partner.[5]<\/a> Psychological abuse escalates into coercive control when emotional harm is combined with sustained patterns of domination, isolation, and deprivation of autonomy.[6]<\/a><\/p>\n

Coercive control operates by undermining a victim\u2019s liberty, freedom, and dignity through cumulative conduct rather than discrete acts.[7]<\/a> Abusers may restrict access to finances, employment, education, reproductive care, and social relationships while using threats to maintain control.[8]<\/a><\/p>\n

Stalking and constant surveillance are common features, reinforcing fear and dependence.[9]<\/a> Technology has significantly expanded the reach of coercive control.[10]<\/a> Technology-facilitated coercive control includes hacking accounts, impersonation, persistent digital harassment, GPS tracking, spyware, smart-home manipulation, and threats to distribute intimate images.[11]<\/a> These tactics allow abusers to overcome geographic boundaries and exert control continuously, even after separation.[12]<\/a><\/p>\n

Despite the severity of this abuse, legal responses often shift responsibility onto victims rather than addressing the perpetrator\u2019s conduct.[13]<\/a> Victims are frequently advised to change phone numbers, delete accounts, or disengage from technology altogether.[14]<\/a> This approach isolates survivors, undermines safety planning, and eliminates critical evidence while failing to hold abusers accountable.[15]<\/a><\/p>\n

Comparative legal frameworks demonstrate more effective approaches. Scotland\u2019s Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018 criminalizes psychological and coercive abuse and evaluates conduct based on cumulative harm.[16]<\/a> Washington State similarly recognizes coercive control as domestic violence and explicitly includes technology-facilitated abuse within its statutory framework.[17]<\/a><\/p>\n

Expanding coercive control statutes in the United States raises constitutional concerns related to vagueness, overbreadth, and due process.[18]<\/a> However, carefully drafted statutes that define coercive control as a pattern of conduct interfering with personal liberty can withstand constitutional scrutiny.[19]<\/a> By regulating demonstrable conduct and cumulative harm rather than isolated speech or intent, coercive control laws target abuse rather than protected expression.[20]<\/a><\/p>\n

As technology evolves, domestic violence law must adapt accordingly.[21]<\/a> Abuse is no longer confined to physical injury or shared spaces but is increasingly carried out through devices, networks, and digital surveillance.[22]<\/a> Recognizing coercive control, including its technological forms, is essential to providing meaningful protection to survivors.[23]<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Link to Image Source: https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https%3A%2F%2Fthedefenders.net%2Fblogs%2Fnew-law-nevada-makes-changes-to-domestic-violence-laws%2F&ved=0CBYQjRxqFwoTCPjhk7fa3JMDFQAAAAAdAAAAABAI&opi=89978449<\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> See Bradley v. State<\/em>, 1 Miss. (1 Walker) 156 (1824); Fulgham v. State, 46 Ala. 143 (1871).<\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> Griswold v. Connecticut<\/em>, 381 U.S. 479, 484-86 (1965).<\/p>\n

[3]<\/a> Id. <\/em><\/p>\n

[4]<\/a> Id.<\/em> at 5-6.<\/p>\n

[5]<\/a> Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, About Intimate Partner Violence<\/em> (cited in paper).<\/p>\n

[6]<\/a> Evan Stark, Coercive Control: How Men Entrap Women in Personal Life<\/em> (2007).<\/p>\n

[7]<\/a> Id.<\/em><\/p>\n

[8]<\/a> Id.<\/em>; Susanne Lohmann, Sean Cowlishaw, Luke Ney, Meaghan O\u2019Donnell & Kim Felmingham, The Trauma and Mental Health Impacts of Coercive Control: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis<\/em>, 25 Trauma, Violence, & Abuse 630, 630 (2024), https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/15248380231162972.<\/p>\n

[9]<\/a> Lohamann, supra<\/em> note 8 at 630.<\/p>\n

[10]<\/a> Madison Lo, A Domestic Violence Dystopia: Abuse via the Internet of Things<\/em>, 109 Calif. L. Rev. 277 (2021).<\/p>\n

[11]<\/a> \u00a0Madison Lo, Note, A Domestic Violence Dystopia: Abuse via the Internet of Things and Remedies Under Current Law,<\/em> 109 Calif. L. Rev. 277, 278 (2021); N.Y. State Office for the Prevention of Domestic Violence, Technology Safety for Survivors<\/em> (cited in paper).<\/p>\n

[12]<\/a> Lo, supra<\/em> note 11 at 284.<\/p>\n

[13]<\/a> Diana Freed et al., Digital Technologies and Intimate Partner Violence<\/em>, 15 Violence Against Women (2020).<\/p>\n

[14]<\/a> Id.<\/em><\/p>\n

[15]<\/a> Elizabeth Yardley, Technology-Facilitated Domestic Abuse in Political Economy: A New Theoretical Framework<\/em>, 26 Violence Against Women<\/em> 1, 12-13 (2020), https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/1077801220947172.<\/p>\n

[16]<\/a> Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018, \u00a7\u00a7 1-3.<\/p>\n

[17]<\/a> Wash. Rev. Code \u00a7 7.105.010; State v. Abdi-Issa, 199 Wn.2d 163 (2022); Matter of Timaeus, 34 Wash. App 2d. 670 (2025).<\/p>\n

[18]<\/a> Erin Sheley, Criminalizing Coercive Control Within the Limits of Due Process<\/em>, 70 Duke L.J. 1321 (2021).<\/p>\n

[19]<\/a> Id.<\/em> at 1338-40.<\/p>\n

[20]<\/a> Id.<\/em> at 1342-45; Erin Sheley, Criminalizing Coercive Control Within the Limits of Due Process<\/em>, 70 Duke L.J.<\/em> 1321, 1340-1345 (2021), https:\/\/scholarship.law.duke.edu\/dlj\/vol70\/iss6\/2.<\/p>\n

[21]<\/a> Diana Freed et al., Digital Technologies and Intimate Partner Violence: A Qualitative Analysis with Multiple Stakeholders<\/em>, 1, 15 Violence Against Women<\/em> (2020), https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/1077801220947172.<\/p>\n

[22]<\/a> Molly Dragiewicz et al., Technology Facilitated Coercive Control: Domestic Violence and the Competing Roles of Digital Media Platforms<\/em>, 18 Feminist Media Studies 609,\u00a0 630 (2018), https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1080\/14680777.2018.1447341<\/a>.<\/p>\n

[23]<\/a> Id.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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