Laws Regarding Undue Influence, Controlling & Coercive Behavior

[Peter Daley]

The concept of undue influence has been well established in British contract law for over 400 years. Presenting here courtasy of Jon Atack, a case from 1617, and the notorious Mrs. Death - apparently her real name. And well, if but a nickname, it would fit. And it is interesting that she essentially lovebombed her victim, a tactic cults use often in recruiting.

The Long History of Undue Influence: Mrs. Death & Her Victim Mr. Lydiatt (Open Minds Foundation - founded by Jon Atack -author and former Scientologist)

Related from the same site: The A to Z of Coercion.

Next, while this 2015 UK law targets coercive behavior in relationships and families, many/most of the types of activities that can lead to convictions under this law can be seen in cultic environments beyond immediate families or intimate relationships:

Dec. 9, 2015: Coercive or Controlling Behaviour Now a Crime (Gov. UK)

The government's new coercive or controlling behaviour offence will mean victims who experience the type of behaviour that stops short of serious physical violence, but amounts to extreme psychological and emotional abuse, can bring their perpetrators to justice

The offence will carry a maximum of 5 years' imprisonment, a fine or both.

Minister for Preventing Abuse and Exploitation Karen Bradley said: "No one should live in fear of domestic abuse, which is why this government has made ending violence against women and girls a priority.

"Our new coercive or controlling behaviour offence will protect victims who would otherwise be subjected to sustained patterns of abuse that can lead to total control of their lives by the perpetrator.

Feb. 4, 2025: Coercive Control to be Treated Like Other Domestic Abuse Offences (BBC)

Feb. 7, 2025: Controlling or Coercive Behaviour in an Intimate or Family Relationship (Crown Prosecution Service)

Building on examples within the Statutory Guidance Framework, relevant behaviour of the suspect can include:

Isolating a person from their friends and family
Depriving them of their basic needs
Monitoring their time
Monitoring a person via online communication tools or using spyware

Using digital systems such as smart devices or social media to coerce, control, or upset the victim including posting triggering material

Taking control over aspects of their everyday life, such as where they can go, who they can see, what to wear and when they can sleep – this can be intertwined with the suspect saying it is in their best interests, and 'rewarding' 'good behaviour' e.g. with gifts

Depriving them of access to support services, such as specialist support or medical services
Repeatedly putting them down such as telling them they are worthless
Enforcing rules and activity which humiliate, degrade or dehumanise the victim
Forcing the victim to take part in criminal activity such as shoplifting, neglect or abuse of children to Encourage self-blame and prevent disclosure to authorities

Economic abuse including coerced debt, controlling spending/bank accounts/investments/mortgages/benefit payments
Controlling the ability to go to school or place of study
Taking wages, benefits or allowances
Threatening to hurt or kill
Threatening to harm a child
Threatening to reveal or publish private information
Threatening to hurt or physically harming a family pet
Assault
Physical intimidation e.g. blocking doors, clenching or shaking fists
Criminal damage (such as destruction of household goods)
Preventing a person from having access to transport or from working
Preventing a person from learning or using a language or making friends outside of their ethnic or cultural background
Family 'dishonour'
Reputational damage
Sexual assault or threats of sexual assault

Reproductive coercion, including restricting a victim's access to birth control, refusing to use a birth control method, forced pregnancy, forcing a victim to get an abortion, to undergo in vitro fertilisation (IVF) or other procedure, or denying access to such a procedure using substances such as alcohol or drugs to control a victim through dependency, or controlling their access to substances

Disclosure of sexual orientation
Disclosure of HIV status or other medical condition without consent

Limiting access to family, friends and finances
Withholding and/or destruction of the victim's immigration documents, e.g. passports and visas

Threatening to place the victim in an institution against the victim's will, e.g. care home, supported living facility, mental health facility, etc (particularly for disabled or elderly victims

This is not an exhaustive list and prosecutors should be aware that a suspect will often tailor the conduct to the victim, and this conduct can vary to a high degree from one person to the next. Prosecutors should consider the conduct of the suspect in each individual case to assess whether it discloses controlling or coercive behaviour.

Interesting but disturbing examples of those under coercive control being victims and being treated like criminals for actions they were coerced into committing. 

July 27, 2025: Survivors of Coercive Control are Being Criminalised in England, Research Finds (The Guardian)

A report from the Centre for Women's Justice (CWJ) drew on the experiences of seven women who were criminalised because of their abusive partners. They include a police officer who was convicted of misconduct in public office and lost her job after her controlling ex-boyfriend, also a police officer, coerced her into giving him her password into the police computer system, and a woman who was prosecuted for theft and fraud after her abusive and controlling partner used her bank account and phone number to sell stolen caravans.

Cara* was arrested alongside her abuser after police raided their house searching for drugs, and found a large amount of cannabis, which belonged to her then-partner. She left the relationship after the police raid, but was forced to come face-to-face with him in court.

"It's taken every ounce of strength that I had to actually leave him," she said. "And then a few months later, in the new year, I got a charge sheet through the post....

"And then I had gone and left and got a restraining order, and that counted for nothing. I was just so completely in shock, my stomach felt like it fell out of my body. ....

It was only at her third court hearing, at a crown court, where she was forced to sit beside her abuser in the dock, that the case against Cara was dropped. "It was so frightening, I was absolutely terrified," she said. "There was nothing between us, nothing to stop him from getting to me. "I had to just be really strong and sit there and look directly at the judge and just not move my gaze," she added. "And I could hear him at the side of me, making digs, saying, 'You'll have to get back with me, or we'll both go down together.'" ...

The Center for Women's Justice (CWJ) has made 11 recommendations for reform, including the introduction of an effective defence for victims of coercive control who are pressured into offending. It has also called for the introduction of a joint police and CPS protocol for gathering, passing on, and taking account of evidence of coercive control where someone suspected of an offence may also be a victim.

Duress and Undue Influence Lecture

[Peter Daley]

This was what I was wondering about when I posted the earlier links. If behavior is illegal in family settings/intimate relationships, why would it then not be illegal within larger groups of people?

March 31, 2026: If My Boyfriend Did What My Pastor Did, I Believe Police Could Investigate (The Guardian)