From love bombing to isolation, the red flags for coercive control can be dangerously difficult to spot before abuse escalates
ABCWith several Australian jurisdictions looking at introducing laws against coercive control, we need to get better at identifying and understanding the insidious pattern of behaviour many perpetrators of domestic abuse use to dominate and entrap victims. This cycle is "crazy making" for victims who believe the love is genuine because the emotional manipulation — the intense flips from love to "hate" — is so extreme. A love bomber's displays of love, whether grand or small, are often public — this not only hooks victims but helps perpetrators develop a persona of someone kind, loving and dutiful, whilst setting up the victim to appear ungrateful, high maintenance and "emotionally fragile" later on. Many victims of psychological and emotional abuse have told me they've lost count of how many times people have told them what a "nice person" their abusive ex-partner is, including their own counsellors. Victims who manage to leave will often encounter "flying monkeys" — people enlisted by the perpetrator to bad mouth and further abuse them.
History of this topic
Gaslighting, love bombing, coercive control – what do these terms of abuse mean?
The Independent
Let’s Talk about Love: The dangers of love bombing, now recognised as a sign of abuse in the UK
Firstpost
How to recognise and defuse a love bomb
Live Mint
What is love bombing? The dangerous form of emotional abuse seen on The Tinder Swindler
The Independent
Love Bombing: What is This Red Flag in Dating Trend and How Can You Protect Yourself
News 18
Manipulative people hook their victims with a tactic called 'love bombing' — here are the signs you've been a target
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