DAfree Newsletter

When the Law Defines Control: What Scotland’s Domestic Abuse Legislation Changes

At DAfree, much of our work focuses on helping people understand patterns of domestic abuse beyond physical violence. In Scotland, this understanding has now been firmly embedded in law.

The Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018 marked a significant shift in how abuse is defined. Rather than focusing solely on individual incidents, the legislation recognises a course of behaviour, repeated actions that collectively cause physical or psychological harm.

This includes behaviours intended to:
• isolate a partner from friends or family
• control, regulate, or monitor their daily activities
• undermine autonomy or decision-making
• cause fear, distress, or dependency over time

Importantly, the law does not require physical violence to be present, instead with the threshold based on impact and pattern, rather than a single event.

What has changed in practice

Since its implementation, the Act has led to a growing number of prosecutions based on coercive and controlling behaviour. Scottish Government data indicates that cases brought under the legislation have increased yearly, reflecting both greater reporting and improved recognition by law enforcement.

By focusing on patterns, the law aligns more closely with how abuse is experienced in reality as ongoing control as opposed to isolated incidents.

Where the debate sits

Despite broad support, the legislation has not been without scrutiny.

One of the central challenges lies in evidencing a pattern of behaviour. Unlike physical violence, coercive control often leaves limited tangible evidence. 

Cases may rely heavily on:
• witness testimony
• digital communication
• behavioural patterns over time

This raises questions about consistency in prosecution and the burden placed on individuals to demonstrate prolonged harm.

There are also ongoing concerns around interpretation. The definition of “reasonable” behaviour within relationships can vary significantly, and distinguishing between unhealthy dynamics and criminal conduct is not always straightforward.

Legal professionals have noted that successful application of the law requires specialist training, contextual understanding, and careful handling of evidence, particularly in more complex cases.

What does this mean beyond the legal system?

The introduction of coercive control into law signals a broader societal shift,
that psychological and behavioural abuse is not secondary to physical violence and instead is recognised as central to it. However, legislation alone cannot fully address the issue.

While the law operates at the point where harm has already occurred, recognition in everyday life often lags behind. Many of the behaviours captured by the Act such as control, isolation, monitoring, emotional pressure can still be misunderstood, minimised, or normalised outside of a legal context.

This gap between legal definition and social recognition remains one of the key challenges in addressing domestic abuse effectively.

Closing thoughts

The development and application of this legislation highlights a fundamental challenge in addressing domestic abuse.

While the law has evolved to recognise patterns of coercive and controlling behaviour, preventing abuse and securing legal consequences for it remains complex. Much of this behaviour occurs in private, unfolds over time, and often relies on interpretation, witness accounts, and an assessment of what constitutes “reasonable” behaviour within a relationship.

This creates an inherent difficulty. The threshold for legal intervention is high, and by the time behaviour is clearly evidenced in court, harm has often already taken place.

At the same time, this legislation reinforces an important point:
that abuse is not always obvious, and not always immediately recognised.

It requires understanding, context and increasingly requires awareness. Where the law depends on interpretation and evidence, recognition in everyday life depends on something else. It depends on individuals being able to identify patterns, question behaviours, and understand when something moves beyond what is healthy or acceptable.

In many ways, this is where prevention begins. Not only in legislation, but in awareness.

A question for our community

If recognising abuse in a legal context relies on interpretation, evidence, and an understanding of behaviour…

What role does awareness play in ensuring those patterns are identified long before they ever reach that point?

Join DAfree

Awareness changes everything.

🪶 Join the conversation. Join the mission.

Selina
Head of Communications & Relations, DAfree
📩 dafree@dafree.org
🌍 www.dafree.org
📲 +44 7301 940852

Community at the Heart of Awareness

Not all change begins loudly.

Sometimes it does not begin with a major decision, a dramatic turning point, or a moment of certainty. Sometimes, it begins much more quietly than that. It begins with a pause. A question. A feeling that something does not sit right. A conversation that lingers in the mind longer than expected.

Change begins with awareness.

Awareness is often underestimated because it can seem small at first. It is not always visible. It does not always lead to immediate action. It does not instantly resolve a situation or provide a perfect answer. But it can create something just as important: the opportunity to reflect. That opportunity matters greatly.

In conversations around relationships, behaviour, boundaries, and wellbeing, people will always bring different experiences and different perspectives. No two people arrive at awareness in exactly the same way. What speaks deeply to one person may simply plant a seed in another. What feels obvious to one person may take much longer for someone else to recognise within themselves.

That is why spaces that encourage thought, conversation, and learning are so important.

Not because they can change people on their behalf, but because they can create the conditions in which reflection becomes possible.

At DAfree, that is at the heart of what we value. Raising awareness is not about telling people who they are. It is not about assuming we can resolve deeply personal situations from the outside. It is about helping people notice, question, and think more deeply about the patterns, behaviours, and beliefs that shape relationships and experiences.

Sometimes the most meaningful shift is not in being told what to do, but in being given the space to see something more clearly for yourself.

Awareness can be the moment a person finds language for something they have struggled to explain. It can be the moment someone begins to recognise a pattern they had normalised. It can be the moment a person reflects on their own behaviour with greater honesty.
And sometimes, it can simply be the beginning of a deeper conversation.

That beginning should never be underestimated.

We often think of change only in terms of action, but reflection is required for action. Before someone sets a boundary, they often need to recognise why it is necessary. Before someone rethinks a relationship dynamic, they often first need to notice it. Before a person grows, they often first have to become aware.

This is why awareness matters so deeply. It does not force change, but it can open the door to it.

And perhaps that is where some of the most meaningful work begins not in having all the answers, but in creating enough space for people to reflect honestly, learn openly, and grow in their own time.

Because sometimes the quietest beginnings can lead to the most lasting change.

So this week, perhaps the question is: what becomes possible when awareness gives us the chance to see ourselves, our relationships, and our choices more clearly?

Join Our Community & Mission

For those of you who haven’t yet joined out Skool Community, we welcome you to join, where learning, connection, and conversation continue beyond the newsletter. Together, we can amplify voices, share knowledge, and support one another in becoming more awarer: Join DAfree

Awareness changes everything.

🪶 Join the conversation. Join the mission.

Selina
Head of Communications & Relations, DAfree

📩 dafree@dafree.org
🌍 www.dafree.org
📲 +44 7301 940852

The Cycles We Don’t See in Ourselves

At DAfree, much of our work centres around raising awareness of domestic abuse: helping people recognise patterns, understand coercive control, and begin conversations that are often difficult but necessary.

But awareness does not only exist at a societal level.
It also exists at a personal level.

Many of the patterns that shape our lives develop gradually through behaviours, beliefs, and responses that we learn over time. These patterns influence far more than our closest relationships. They can shape how we communicate at work, how we respond to stress, how we navigate conflict, and how we interact with people in our daily lives.

Often, these habits and reactions exist long before we consciously recognise them. They become part of how we operate, influencing the tone of our conversations, the decisions we make, and the ways we respond to others.

Breaking cycles, therefore, requires more than recognising harm once it becomes obvious. It involves developing a deeper awareness of the small behaviours, reactions, and assumptions that guide how we show up in the world, whether in our relationships, workplaces, or everyday interactions.

These behaviours are not limited to intimate relationships. They can also appear in workplaces, friendships, family interactions, and many of the everyday exchanges that shape our lives. On their own, these reactions may seem small or insignificant.

Becoming more aware of our own patterns, communication styles, and emotional responses can help all of us create healthier environments in our relationships, our work, and our daily interactions with others.

They often start as everyday responses that appear ordinary and familiar:

• feeling the need to check where someone is
• reacting with jealousy or insecurity
• avoiding difficult conversations
• withdrawing communication when upset
• using silence, criticism, or pressure to influence an outcome

On their own, these reactions may seem insignificant. But when they become patterns, they can begin to shape environments that feel tense, restrictive, or emotionally unsafe for others.

Recognising this is not about assigning blame. It is about developing awareness.

Because cycles rarely change simply by recognising them in others. They begin to change when we are willing to reflect on the patterns within ourselves.

The role of awareness

At the heart of DAfree is the idea of becoming AWARER.

Awareness is not only about recognising abuse in its most visible forms. It is also about noticing the subtle patterns that influence how we communicate, respond to conflict, and interact with people in our everyday environments.

These patterns can influence far more than personal relationships. They shape the tone of conversations at work, the way disagreements unfold, and how safe people feel expressing themselves around us. This kind of reflection can sometimes feel uncomfortable. But it can also be one of the most powerful ways to prevent harmful cycles before they begin.

When we develop a deeper understanding of our own behaviours, reactions, and emotional triggers, we are often better equipped to create environments that are grounded in respect, accountability, and emotional safety.

In many ways, breaking cycles begins with a simple but challenging question:

What might begin to shift in our relationships, workplaces, and communities if each of us reflected on the patterns within ourselves?

🪶 Join the conversation. Join the mission.

Selina
Head of Communications & Relations, DAfree

📩 dafree@dafree.org
🌍 www.dafree.org
📲 +44 7301 940852

Your World Shouldn’t Get Smaller

Why friendship is one of the strongest forms of prevention.

Healthy love does not isolate you and doesn’t slowly shrink your world, reduce your circle, or make you feel like your independence is something to negotiate.

And yet, one of the earliest warning signs of unhealthy dynamics isn’t dramatic conflict. It’s distance.

Distance from friends. Distance from family.

Distance from the parts of you that existed before the relationship began.

At DAfree, we talk a lot about awareness. But prevention isn’t just about spotting red flags. It’s also about protecting the life you’ve already built.

Friendship is not a threat to a healthy relationship. It is a foundation for one.

Strong friendships do a few powerful things:

• They remind you who you are outside of romantic dynamics
• They provide perspective when something feels “off”
• They reduce emotional dependency on one person
• They create safety nets long before you ever need them

A healthy partner won’t compete with your friendships. They won’t mock them, discourage them, or make you feel guilty for maintaining them. 

In fact, one of the biggest green flags is encouragement.

Encouragement to see your friends, keep your hobbies and maintain your independence.

Your world should expand in a healthy relationship, not contract.

Sometimes isolation doesn’t happen through demands. It happens through subtle shifts:

“Do you have to go out again?”

“They don’t really understand us.”

“I just miss you when you’re not here.”

On their own, these phrases may sound harmless. But patterns matter. If maintaining your friendships starts to feel like a problem, that’s worth noticing.

Prevention doesn’t mean assuming the worst. It means staying connected.

Connected to your support system.

Connected to your identity.

Connected to your autonomy.

Healthy love feels steady. It feels calm. It allows you to exist fully,  not just as someone’s partner, but as yourself.

The question isn’t “Are they stopping me?” but instead “Do I still feel like me?”

Because the safest relationships are the ones where your world keeps growing. And friendship will always be one of your strongest protections.

In the name of community, please share a time where you felt recognised, loved and grateful for your friendships or interactions within your community. 

Please let us know your thoughts.

Join Our Community & Mission

For those of you who haven’t yet joined out Skool Community, we welcome you to join, where learning, connection, and conversation continue beyond the newsletter. Together, we can amplify voices, share knowledge, and support one another in becoming more awarer: Join DAfree

Awareness changes everything.

🪶 Join the conversation. Join the mission.

Selina
Head of Communications & Relations, DAfree

📩 dafree@dafree.org
🌍 www.dafree.org
📲 +44 7301 940852

🌹 Red Flags Wrapped in Roses

Valentine’s Day and the Normalisation of Unhealthy Love

Valentine’s Day is often marketed as a celebration of love, featuring romantic gestures, grand surprises, intense emotions, and declarations of devotion. But beneath the roses and heart-shaped cards, this season can also blur the line between what is loving and what is harmful.

In popular culture, intensity is often mistaken for intimacy. Jealousy is framed as passion. Possessiveness is reframed as care. The message is subtle but persistent: love should be consuming, and all-encompassing.

For many people experiencing domestic abuse, this messaging makes it harder to recognise when something is wrong.

Checking in constantly can look like concern.
Wanting to know where someone is at all times can be justified as “worry.”
Discouraging friendships or independence can be disguised as a desire for closeness.

Around Valentine’s Day, these behaviours can be often amplified and excused. Grand gestures can mask patterns of control. Apologies wrapped in gifts can temporarily soften harm. What might otherwise feel uncomfortable or alarming is reframed as romantic effort. And often drown out smaller gestures of genuine and harmless love.

This normalisation is dangerous.

When unhealthy behaviours are repeatedly presented as signs of love, partners may doubt their instincts. They may feel ungrateful, dramatic, or disloyal for questioning actions that others celebrate. At the same time, friends, family, and bystanders may struggle to recognise warning signs because they’ve been taught to see these behaviours as proof of commitment.

Domestic abuse does not always begin with fear or violence. It often begins with intensity, attention, and emotional closeness before, in some cases, gradually shifting into control, isolation, and harm.

Valentine’s Day gives us an opportunity to pause and question the stories we’ve been told about love. To ask whether the behaviours we praise actually allow for autonomy, safety, and mutual respect. To reflect on whether love is being used to uplift or to limit.

At DAfree, awareness starts with questioning what we’ve been taught to accept.

So we leave you with this question:
How have films, social media, and traditions taught us to associate intensity with depth?

Please let us know your thoughts.

Join Our Community & Mission

For those of you who haven’t yet joined out Skool Community, we welcome you to join, where learning, connection, and conversation continue beyond the newsletter. Together, we can amplify voices, share knowledge, and support one another in becoming more awarer: Join DAfree

Awareness changes everything.

🪶 Join the conversation. Join the mission.

Selina
Head of Communications & Relations, DAfree

📩 dafree@dafree.org
🌍 www.dafree.org
📲 +44 7301 940852

📹 When Control is Subtle: Coercive Power, Media, and Awareness in THE HOUSEMAID (2025) 

This week, we examine how coercive control is portrayed in modern media through the 2025 psychological thriller The Housemaid, and why representations like this matter in shaping public understanding of domestic abuse.

The Housemaid does not rely on constant physical violence to communicate harm. Instead, it focuses on psychological dominance, manipulation, fear, and dependency within a domestic setting. Control is exercised quietly and incrementally through emotional pressure, blurred boundaries, isolation, and an imbalance of power that tightens over time. These are the very dynamics that often go unnoticed in real life, both by those experiencing them and by those observing from the outside.

What makes the 2025 adaptation particularly impactful is its familiarity. The environments, relationships, and social contexts feel recognisable. The abuse portrayed is not immediately obvious or extreme; it is layered, subtle, and often disguised as care, concern, or authority. This reflects the lived experiences of many survivors, who describe abuse not as a single moment of harm, but as a gradual erosion of autonomy and safety.

At DAfree, we often speak about the need to move beyond narrow definitions of domestic abuse. Coercive control rarely begins with visible violence. It starts with monitoring, restriction, emotional manipulation, or financial dependence, of which these behaviours can be minimised, rationalised, or misunderstood until the situation escalates. The Housemaid captures this progression, showing how silence, fear, and power can trap individuals long before anyone labels the behaviour as abuse. Alongside this, it highlights the difficulty of reporting such abuse, with the vulnerable partner being labelled and depicted as crazy or unfit.

The role of media in creating AWARERS

Media plays a crucial role in shaping how society understands abuse. Films like The Housemaid help create AWARERS, people who are better equipped to recognise harmful patterns, question normalised behaviour, and identify red flags in both their own lives and the lives of others. Awareness is not only about knowledge; it is about perception. When stories reflect the realities of coercive control, they challenge audiences to rethink what abuse looks like and where it can exist.

For many people, media is the first point of contact with these concepts. A film can provide language for experiences that felt confusing or isolating. It can prompt reflection, conversations, and, in some cases, early intervention. While media alone cannot prevent abuse, it can shift cultural understanding, reduce stigma, and encourage people to trust their instincts when something feels wrong.

However, this also places responsibility on storytelling. Accurate, nuanced portrayals matter. When coercive control is shown as complex and damaging rather than sensational or romanticised it contributes to a more informed and compassionate society.

At DAfree, our mission is not only to support ‘survivors’ but to build a wider community of people who are aware, informed, and willing to challenge harmful dynamics. Media that reflects the realities of abuse plays a vital role in that work.

A question for our community:

How effective do you think films like The Housemaid (2025) are in creating AWARERS and what harms can come from inaccurate portrayals?

Please let us know your thoughts.

Join Our Community & Mission

For those of you who haven’t yet joined out Skool Community, we welcome you to join, where learning, connection, and conversation continue beyond the newsletter. Together, we can amplify voices, share knowledge, and support one another in becoming more awarer: Join DAfree

Awareness changes everything.

🪶 Join the conversation. Join the mission.

Selina
Head of Communications & Relations, DAfree

📩 dafree@dafree.org
🌍 www.dafree.org
📲 +44 7301 940852

📰 Changing the Story: Can Police-Led Campaigns Shift Domestic Abuse Awareness?

Across parts of the UK,  though not yet on a nationally consistent basis, some police authorities have begun implementing domestic abuse awareness initiatives under the banner “Change the Story.”.These campaigns aim to challenge harmful narratives around abuse, encourage early recognition of coercive and controlling behaviours, and prompt both victims and perpetrators to reflect before harm escalates.

At its core, Change the Story seeks to reframe domestic abuse not as isolated incidents, but as patterns of behaviour that are often normalised, minimised, or misunderstood. The campaign's message typically highlights warning signs, promotes accountability, and directs individuals to support services. In theory, this represents a shift away from purely reactive policing and toward prevention and education.

Where this initiative may help

There is clear value in police forces publicly acknowledging that domestic abuse is not only physical violence, but also includes coercive control, emotional harm, financial abuse, and psychological manipulation. Campaigns like this can:

• Increase public awareness of non-physical forms of abuse
• Encourage earlier intervention, particularly from bystanders, friends, and family
• Challenge cultural narratives that excuse or minimise abusive behaviour
• Signal that abuse is taken seriously by institutions with authority
  
  

For some survivors, seeing domestic abuse discussed openly by police may validate experiences that were previously dismissed or difficult to articulate. For others, it may offer language they lacked to describe their lived experiences. 

Where challenges remain

Awareness campaigns alone cannot carry the weight of systemic change. Without consistent actions combatting abuse, there is a risk that initiatives like Change the Story remain symbolic rather than transformative, causing key concerns to include:

• Trust gaps between survivors and institutions
• Limited reach, with campaigns often regional or short-term
• Lack of survivor-led framing in public messaging
• Unclear measures of impact on long-term safety and prevention

Changing the narrative around domestic abuse requires more than messaging. It requires sustained education, survivor-informed policy, accessible support services, and accountability at every level.

Why this matters

Narratives shape behaviour. When abuse is framed as rare, mutual, or provoked, it thrives in silence. When it is recognised as patterned, and preventable, intervention becomes possible. Campaigns like Change the Story can be a starting point but they must be part of a wider, coordinated commitment to prevention, protection, and justice.

At DAfree, we believe awareness must always be paired with action. Education must be ongoing. And those with lived experiences of abuse, must remain at the centre of every conversation not as case studies, but as voices shaping the future.

So the question remains: What would meaningful prevention look like if survivors, educators, and communities were placed at the centre of domestic abuse awareness,  rather than relying on short-term campaigns alone?

Join Our Community & Mission

For those of you who haven’t yet joined out Skool Community, we welcome you to join, where learning, connection, and conversation continue beyond the newsletter. Together, we can amplify voices, share knowledge, and support one another in becoming more awarer: Join DAfree

Awareness changes everything.

🪶 Join the conversation. Join the mission.

Selina
Head of Communications & Relations, DAfree

📩 dafree@dafree.org
🌍 www.dafree.org
📲 +44 7301 940852

Welcome to the first of DAfree’s many newsletters

Welcome to our second newsletter

Welcome to our third newsletter

Welcome to our fourth newsletter

Welcome to our fifth newsletter

Welcome to our sixth newsletter

Welcome to our seventh newsletter