{"id":162108,"date":"2025-05-27T04:00:05","date_gmt":"2025-05-26T18:00:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/?p=162108"},"modified":"2025-05-22T11:52:14","modified_gmt":"2025-05-22T01:52:14","slug":"esafety-coercive-control","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/living\/esafety-coercive-control\/","title":{"rendered":"eSafety Commissioner sounds warning on coercive control"},"content":{"rendered":"

Australia’s eSafety Commissioner has sounded a warning about coercive control, with new research revealing almost one in five young adults think it is reasonable to expect to track a romantic partner whenever they want.<\/strong><\/p>\n

More than 2,000 Australians aged 18 to 75 and over were asked whether they agreed with specific harmful expectations and attitudes associated with technology-based coercive control in intimate relationships, including isolating, micro-managing and monitoring a partner.<\/p>\n

While 13.6 per cent of all participants agreed expecting to track an intimate partner whenever they wanted using location-sharing apps was reasonable, this jumped to 18.6 per cent for 18-24-year-olds.<\/p>\n

\u201cYoung people have become so accustomed to a certain level of online tracking and monitoring by family and friends that it wouldn\u2019t seem strange to expect similar digital access in a romantic relationship,\u201d eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe urgently need to get the message out there that a respectful partner never expects to keep tabs on you 24\/7.\u201d<\/p>\n

While the research reinforces the need for more education around digital boundaries, privacy and consent, it also raises questions about how popular tracking apps used by parents might be priming children and young people to accept round-the-clock monitoring without question.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a country, we\u2019re grappling with how to stem the devastating tide of intimate partner violence. But if we want to change these behaviours, we must challenge underlying attitudes that endorse and normalise controlling and monitoring behaviours in romantic relationships,\u201d Ms Inman Grant said.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor some, the expectation of tracking can contribute to future tech-based coercive control: a pattern of behaviour used to manipulate someone with devastating effects on that person\u2019s perception, sense of self-worth, and sense of safety.\u201d<\/p>\n

People who use coercive control in a relationship are more likely to use physical violence against their partner and any children involved. There is also a higher risk of lethal violence.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt isn\u2019t an exaggeration to say preventing tech-based coercive control, and the attitudes that condone it, can save lives,\u201d Ms Inman Grant said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not saying a couple in a relationship or family members shouldn\u2019t share their location online. What we\u2019re saying is the expectation you can track a romantic partner whenever you want is problematic, even dangerous. And this is especially the case when a partner is using other controlling, isolating or manipulative tactics.”<\/p>\n

The eSafety Commissioner is encouraging parents and carers to role model respectful technology practices as often as possible.<\/p>\n

“Your example can help young people navigate tricky issues of consent, respect and privacy into their adult years,” she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor example, if you decide to download a location-sharing app onto your child\u2019s device, have a conversation about why and when their location will be shared with you, and how the app works. We want to build children\u2019s understanding of where and how information about them exists online and who else can access it.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know the pressure on parents and carers to understand all the intricacies of the online world is overwhelming. That\u2019s why we have everything from explainers and conversation guides to free parent webinars at eSafety.gov.au\/parents<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Parents can register for a free 45-minute webinar on August 6 at 12.30pm.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Australia’s eSafety Commissioner has sounded a warning about coercive control, with new research revealing almost one in five young adults think it is reasonable to expect to track a romantic partner whenever they want. More than 2,000 Australians aged 18 to 75 and over were asked whether they agreed with specific harmful expectations and attitudes […]<\/p>\n

Read More…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":142,"featured_media":162113,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-162108","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-living"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\neSafety Commissioner sounds warning on coercive control - Surf Coast Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"eSafety Commissioner warns about coercive control, as research shows young adults increasingly see tracking partners as reasonable.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/living\/esafety-coercive-control\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"eSafety Commissioner sounds warning on coercive control - Surf Coast Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"eSafety Commissioner warns about coercive control, as research shows young adults increasingly see tracking partners as reasonable.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/living\/esafety-coercive-control\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Surf Coast Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-05-26T18:00:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/05\/smart-phone-cropped.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"James Taylor\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"James Taylor\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/living\\\/esafety-coercive-control\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/living\\\/esafety-coercive-control\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"James Taylor\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/c1765be3a722a2023e6ce64487db8b45\"},\"headline\":\"eSafety Commissioner sounds warning on coercive control\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-05-26T18:00:05+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/living\\\/esafety-coercive-control\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":540,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/living\\\/esafety-coercive-control\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/smart-phone-cropped.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Living\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/living\\\/esafety-coercive-control\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/living\\\/esafety-coercive-control\\\/\",\"name\":\"eSafety Commissioner sounds warning on coercive control - Surf Coast Times\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/living\\\/esafety-coercive-control\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/living\\\/esafety-coercive-control\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/smart-phone-cropped.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-05-26T18:00:05+00:00\",\"description\":\"eSafety Commissioner warns about coercive control, as research shows young adults increasingly see tracking partners as reasonable.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/living\\\/esafety-coercive-control\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/living\\\/esafety-coercive-control\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/living\\\/esafety-coercive-control\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/smart-phone-cropped.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2025\\\/05\\\/smart-phone-cropped.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":630,\"caption\":\"The eSafety Commissioner warns that popular tracking apps used by parents might be priming children and young people to accept round-the-clock monitoring without question. Photo: FREEPIK.COM\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/living\\\/esafety-coercive-control\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"eSafety Commissioner sounds warning on coercive control\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/\",\"name\":\"Surf Coast Times\",\"description\":\"Free local news\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Surf Coast Times\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2019\\\/08\\\/cropped-logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2019\\\/08\\\/cropped-logo.png\",\"width\":350,\"height\":38,\"caption\":\"Surf Coast Times\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/c1765be3a722a2023e6ce64487db8b45\",\"name\":\"James Taylor\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/surfcoasttimes\\\/author\\\/james\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"eSafety Commissioner sounds warning on coercive control - Surf Coast Times","description":"eSafety Commissioner warns about coercive control, as research shows young adults increasingly see tracking partners as reasonable.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/living\/esafety-coercive-control\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"eSafety Commissioner sounds warning on coercive control - Surf Coast Times","og_description":"eSafety Commissioner warns about coercive control, as research shows young adults increasingly see tracking partners as reasonable.","og_url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/living\/esafety-coercive-control\/","og_site_name":"Surf Coast Times","article_published_time":"2025-05-26T18:00:05+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":630,"url":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/05\/smart-phone-cropped.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"James Taylor","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"James Taylor","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/living\/esafety-coercive-control\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/living\/esafety-coercive-control\/"},"author":{"name":"James Taylor","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/#\/schema\/person\/c1765be3a722a2023e6ce64487db8b45"},"headline":"eSafety Commissioner sounds warning on coercive control","datePublished":"2025-05-26T18:00:05+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/living\/esafety-coercive-control\/"},"wordCount":540,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/living\/esafety-coercive-control\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/05\/smart-phone-cropped.jpg","articleSection":["Living"],"inLanguage":"en-AU"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/living\/esafety-coercive-control\/","url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/living\/esafety-coercive-control\/","name":"eSafety Commissioner sounds warning on coercive control - Surf Coast Times","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/living\/esafety-coercive-control\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/living\/esafety-coercive-control\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/05\/smart-phone-cropped.jpg","datePublished":"2025-05-26T18:00:05+00:00","description":"eSafety Commissioner warns about coercive control, as research shows young adults increasingly see tracking partners as reasonable.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/living\/esafety-coercive-control\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-AU","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/living\/esafety-coercive-control\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/living\/esafety-coercive-control\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/05\/smart-phone-cropped.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/05\/smart-phone-cropped.jpg","width":1200,"height":630,"caption":"The eSafety Commissioner warns that popular tracking apps used by parents might be priming children and young people to accept round-the-clock monitoring without question. Photo: FREEPIK.COM"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/living\/esafety-coercive-control\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"eSafety Commissioner sounds warning on coercive control"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/#website","url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/","name":"Surf Coast Times","description":"Free local news","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-AU"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/#organization","name":"Surf Coast Times","url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/08\/cropped-logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/08\/cropped-logo.png","width":350,"height":38,"caption":"Surf Coast Times"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/#\/schema\/person\/c1765be3a722a2023e6ce64487db8b45","name":"James Taylor","url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/author\/james\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/162108","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/142"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=162108"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/162108\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/162113"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=162108"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=162108"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=162108"},{"taxonomy":"post_folder","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post_folder?post=162108"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}