Researching Public Understanding of Coercive Control – Replication and Reflections across Four Countries
The Forensic Managed Care Network NI is hosting this webinar
on Tuesday, 25th November 2025 from 9.30 to 11.00am (on Zoom)
Over the past decade, recognition regarding the seriousness of coercive control has increased, with many countries and regions developing and implementing legislation which makes such behaviours an offence. However, reports of successful implementation and uptake of such legislation have been mixed with professionals and victims both finding it difficult to recognise and evidence coercive control. During 2022, Lagdon et al. highlighted a lack of international evidence on wider public knowledge and understanding of coercive control. To address this evidence gap Lagdon et al. worked with various stakeholders to develop a novel scenario-based methodology to capture baseline data on public understanding of coercive control within intimate relationships in Northern Ireland. The study also explored the impact of victim gender, respondent gender, and coercive control obviousness on public attitudes towards coercive control. The research methodology and design approach (including community engagement/consultation) have since been replicated in Denmark, Australia and Singapore. Within this webinar, we will share the findings from the studies carried out in Northern Ireland, Denmark, Australia, and Singapore. The authors will also detail country-specific design processes, including specific national contexts and considerations, and any regional challenges/enablers. The chair will bring together/summarise the commonalities and points of contrast. Attendees will have the opportunity to ask questions and get involved in the commentary on this issue.
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Dr Susan Lagdon, PhD, is a Senior Lecturer in Psychology (Mental Health) at Ulster University, Northern Ireland and a fellow of the UK higher education academy. Susan is also co-chair of the Northern Ireland Forensic Managed Care Network Research Group and a member of the British Psychological Society. Research interests include domestic and sexual violence and abuse, particularly mental health implications of interpersonal trauma. Susan’s work involves the use of multiple mix-methods with particular focus on participatory and stakeholder engagement to guide research process. |
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Dr Julie-Ann Jordan is a Senior Researcher in the IMPACT Research Centre (Northern Health and Social Care Trust). She is also part of the Northern Ireland Forensic Managed Care Network, a regional network in Northern Ireland that comprises members from statutory and non-statutory forensic services with an intellectual/learning disability focus. In collaboration with Dr Susan Lagdon, in 2020 she was involved in the launch of a population level survey on attitudes towards and awareness of coercive control in Northern Ireland. |
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Bjarke Følner is Lead Consultant at Als Research in Copenhagen, Denmark. He is an experienced social researcher and project evaluator specialising in marginalised groups, integration, gender equality, and violence in intimate and family relations. His work often focuses on applied research and evaluations that inform policy and practice. |
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Dr Kelli MacMillan is a Senior Lecturer and a Clinical Psychologist. Kelli teaches in the postgraduate psychology programme at Murdoch University and practices in the public sector at the Tertiary Maternity and Gynaecological Hospital for Women and Infants in Western Australia. Kelli holds a DPsych (Clinical), as well as a BSc (Hons) and BA (LLB). Kelli was a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow in perinatal mental health and is passionate about changing family domestic violence and its impact on future generations. |
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Dr Amy Lim, Ph.D., is Senior Lecturer in Psychology at Murdoch University and Discipline Lead in Psychology at Murdoch University, Singapore. Her research centres on evolutionary psychology, with a particular interest in understanding modern social phenomena through the lens of evolutionary mismatches. She also examines individual differences amongst women, and how these account for performance differences in the workplace. Her work has attracted media attention, and she actively contributes to translating academic research into public discourse. |
This webinar is suitable for academics, health practitioners, criminal justice agencies, community and voluntary partners, service users, carers, and policy makers. Speakers will disseminate further in their respective countries.