There are wide-ranging views about how to respond to coercive control, a form of domestic and family violence, with New South Wales and Queensland leading the charge in criminalising it. However, according to ANROWS, more work is needed to understand the effectiveness of criminalisation and other responses to coercive and controlling behaviours.
In Newman, WA, the Aboriginal Males Healing Centre (AMHC) is a community-led initiative that provides an alternative to incarceration for Aboriginal men who use violence. Its vision is simple yet profound: that all Aboriginal women and children live safe and healthy lives free from family violence.
“We focus on healing-informed practice, addressing the trauma that underpins violent behaviour rather than relying solely on punitive measures,” AMHC CEO Devon Cuimara told Third Sector. “AMHC integrates cultural authority, ceremony and kinship systems with trauma-informed therapeutic models. By doing so, we aim to break cycles of violence and restore safe, respectful relationships within families and communities.”
At the 3rd National Family Safety Summit, Mr Cuimara will be presenting a case study on reframing coercive control and challenging colonial power and control structures. Ahead of the summit, we asked him to provide some insights into the topic.
How do coercive control laws reflect colonial ideologies and marginalise Indigenous perspectives?
- The current push to criminalise coercive control reflects a Western legal framing of violence, one that privileges individualised, carceral responses. For First Nations communities, this approach risks deepening harm.
- Colonial ideologies underpin these laws by assuming state policing and punishment are the primary solutions, although Aboriginal people are already disproportionately criminalised.
- Indigenous women have raised concerns that coercive control laws may expand police powers without addressing systemic racism, leaving them more vulnerable to surveillance and punishment rather than protection.
- These laws often fail to recognise collective, kinship-based understandings of safety and accountability, marginalising Indigenous perspectives on justice and healing.
What is the role of structural racism in shaping legal, medical and social responses to Indigenous communities?
Structural racism is not incidental; it is embedded in the very systems meant to protect Indigenous people.
- In the legal system, Aboriginal people face overpolicing, higher incarceration rates and systemic disbelief of women’s testimonies.
- In the medical system, racism manifests as misdiagnosis, neglect and lack of culturally safe care, compounding trauma and discouraging help-seeking.
- In the social sector, policies often frame Aboriginal families as ‘risky’ rather than recognising the risks imposed by colonisation, leading to disproportionate child removals and punitive interventions.
These systemic biases reinforce cycles of violence and disadvantage, rather than addressing root causes.
How do community-led solutions and truth-telling about colonial violence help advocate for decolonising justice?
The path forward lies in community-led solutions and truth-telling about colonial violence:
- Community-led healing: Programs like AMHC demonstrate that when Aboriginal people design and lead responses, they are more culturally safe, effective and sustainable.
- Truth-telling: Acknowledging the legacy of dispossession, child removal and systemic violence is essential to decolonising justice. Truth-telling processes, such as those called for in the Uluru Statement from the Heart, create space for shared understanding and structural reform.
- Decolonising justice: This means shifting from punitive, state-centric models to restorative, healing-based approaches that restore cultural authority and empower communities to define safety on their own terms.
Is there anything you want to add or highlight? What should people look forward to in your session?
What I want to highlight is this: Coercive control is not new to Aboriginal people. It has been exercised for over two centuries through colonial laws, policies and institutions that sought to dominate our families, lands and spirits.
In my session, people should look forward to:
- Hearing how healing, not punishment, can break cycles of violence
- Understanding how colonial power structures continue to shape contemporary laws
- Learning how truth-telling and community-led governance can transform justice into something that heals rather than harms
On a final note, reframing coercive control requires us to see beyond the individual perpetrator and victim and to confront the structural coercive control of colonisation itself. Only by doing so can we build a justice system that is truly decolonised, culturally safe and healing for all.
Don’t miss this crucial conversation on coercive control. Secure your spot for Family Safety Summit now.
Geraldine is currently the Content Producer for Third Sector, an Akolade channel. Throughout her career, she has written for various industries and international audiences. Her love for writing extends beyond the corporate world, as she also works as a volunteer writer at her local church. Aside from writing, she is also fond of joining fun runs and watching musicals.
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