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Coercive Control: The Invisible Warning Signs Behind Femicide in Canada


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As we continue to observe Women’s Abuse Awareness Month and the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, I am drawn to one truth we do not talk about nearly enough:


Femicide rarely begins with physical violence. It begins with control.


Long before a woman is harmed, long before a child becomes a witness, long before headlines speak of “another tragic loss”, there are quieter, more insidious warning signs.


Coercive control.


Patterns of isolation, monitoring, financial restriction, intimidation, and fear that gradually strip away a woman’s autonomy, identity, and mental health. These patterns form the pathway to femicide.... And too often, they are missed.

The Hidden Pattern Behind Femicide

Coercive control, sometimes called “coercive and controlling behaviour,” is a pattern of domination in intimate relationships where one partner uses fear, manipulation, isolation, and surveillance to entrap the other. It is now widely recognized across Canada as one of the strongest predictors of intimate partner homicide (National Magazine, 2024).



Examples include:

💠 Surveillance and monitoring — checking phones, tracking locations, monitoring routines

💠 Isolation — cutting her off from friends, family, and community support

💠 Financial control — limiting access to money, employment, or schooling

💠 Threats and intimidation — “If you ever leave me…”

💠 Gaslighting and humiliation — undermining her confidence and reality

💠 Control of daily life — what she wears, where she goes, how she parents

💠 Unpredictability — cycling between charm and punishment


These behaviours create an environment defined by fear, instability, and dependency, conditions that can escalate into lethal violence if unaddressed.

Femicide in Canada: What the Data Tells Us


Gender-related homicide data in Canada tells a clear and devastating story.


According to Women and Gender Equality Canada (WAGE) and Statistics Canada:



  • Between 2011 and 2021, police reported 1,125 women and girls were victims of gender-related homicide — an average of about 102 victims per year (Women and Gender Equality Canada, 2025).

  • 93% of these victims (n = 1,051) were killed by a male intimate partner or family member (WAGE, 2025).

  • In 2021, the rate of gender-related homicide of Indigenous women and girls (1.72 per 100,000) was more than triple the rate for women and girls overall (0.54 per 100,000) (Statistics Canada, 2023).

  • Rural areas show a significantly higher risk. In 2021, the rate of gender-related homicide in rural communities (1.13 per 100,000) was 2.5 times higher than in urban areas (0.44 per 100,000) (WAGE, 2025).

  • From 2018–2022, at least one in five femicide victims in Canada were Indigenous women or girls, despite representing less than 5% of the female population (CFOJA, 2023).


The numbers confirm what advocates have said for decades:


Femicide is not random; it is patterned, predictable, and preventable.

And coercive control is often present long before violence becomes fatal.

The Psychological Toll of Coercive Control

In my clinical practice, I see firsthand how coercive control impacts women long before physical violence occurs. It is a form of chronic psychological trauma that affects every dimension of well-being.

Women experiencing coercive control often describe:

🌿 Persistent fear and hypervigilance 

🌿 Depression, shame, and self-blame

🌿 Loss of identity 

🌿 Isolation from social supports

🌿 Erosion of confidence and autonomy

🌿 Difficulties parenting under surveillance or intimidation

🌿 Post-traumatic stress symptoms 


Research shows that coercive control is associated with a greater risk of PTSD than physical violence alone (Wathen & MacMillan, 2013). And for children, living within an environment shaped by coercive control is now increasingly recognized as a child-welfare concern due to the emotional harm, instability, and fear it creates (Justice Canada, 2023).

Why This Work Matters to Me — and My Practice

As a therapist and family mediator, I have walked alongside women who doubted their own reality, who suffered in silence because there were no bruises, and who feared for both their safety and their children’s future.


I have supported mothers whose children witnessed subtle but devastating acts of control, raised voices, slammed doors, unpredictable moods, financial stress, or threats behind closed doors.


Coercive control operates in the shadows. Bringing it to light is essential for prevention.


My work is grounded in helping women reclaim their voice, rebuild autonomy, and reconnect with safety, both emotional and practical.

What NJCCS Offers Survivors, Families & Community Partners

💠 Trauma-Informed Counselling

Compassionate, culturally responsive support for women navigating coercive control, intimate partner violence, and post-separation trauma.

💠 Family Mediation & Communication Support

Facilitating safe conversations and supporting families impacted by fear, control, or emotional manipulation.

💠 Safety Planning & Support Navigation

Collaborative risk assessment, safety planning, and connection to community and legal supports.

💠 Research & Consulting Services

Beyond therapy, I collaborate with government, community organizations, and academic institutions to strengthen systemic responses to gender-based violence through:

  • Literature reviews and evidence-based reports

  • Community needs assessments

  • Survivor-informed interviews and focus groups

  • Data collection and analysis

  • Research-informed program development

  • Policy recommendations and presentations


Every story, every dataset, and every survivor voice contributes to change.

A Message to Survivors, Advocates & Allies

If you are living with fear, manipulation, or control, please know this:

It is real. It is serious. It is not your fault.


You deserve safety, support, and the chance to rebuild your life.

And to community partners, educators, and policymakers: Femicide is preventable, but only if we recognize coercive control as the urgent warning sign that it is.


If you wish to collaborate on research, advocacy, or community-based initiatives, I welcome the opportunity.


Together, we can strengthen prevention and support women and children living under the shadow of control.

Moving Forward Together

Coercive control is a silent warning, one that too often goes unnoticed until it is too late.


By bringing visibility to these hidden patterns, by strengthening community awareness and trauma-informed care, and by supporting research and prevention efforts, we honour every woman whose life has been stolen by gender-based violence.


We honour her by ensuring her story leads to action.


With warmth,



Nada Johnson, MSW, RSW

Registered Social Worker, Psychotherapist / trained Family Mediator / EMDR Trained Therapist / Certified Racial Trauma Clinician / Mental Health & Sexual Violence Consultant / Professional Speaker



Nada Johnson Consulting & Counselling Services – Online phone and video sessions available

Village Healing Centre: 240 Roncesvalles Avenue




Please share this post to raise awareness, coercive control is not just hidden, it is dangerous, and it is preventable. 💙

References

Canadian Femicide Observatory for Justice and Accountability. (2023). #CallItFemicide: Understanding sex/gender-related killings of women and girls in Canada (2018–2022). https://femicideincanada.ca/callitfemicide2018-2022.pdf

Justice Canada. (2023). Brief overview of coercive control and the criminal law. https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/rp-pr/cj-jp/victim/rd17-rr17/p4.html

Statistics Canada. (2023). Gender-related homicide of women and girls in Canada, 2021. https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/85-002-x/2023001/article/00003-eng.htm

Women and Gender Equality Canada. (2025). Facts, stats, and WAGE’s impact: Gender-based violence. https://www.canada.ca/en/women-gender-equality/gender-based-violence/facts-stats.html

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