Bouquet of Flowers
At First Glance
He sent a beautiful bouquet to his girlfriend, a surprise out of the blue. My boyfriend sure wouldn't do that!
The Reality
"At the beginning of our relationship, he gave me a bouquet of my favourite flowers. When he gave them to me, he said he wouldn't be able to bear it if I ever left him, that he wouldn't be able to go on living—and neither would I! Since then, he regularly orders the same flowers to remind me what would happen if I thought of leaving him. Nobody knows what this bouquet really means. My family thinks he's so romantic, and if I told them, they'd think I was exaggerating. He has never hit me; he never had to. I'm scared all the time."
The Signs
Threats and manipulation
are examples of coercive control
Why is this Coercive Control?
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01
Disguised threat
He uses an everyday object as a death threat and manipulates her with threats of suicide.
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02
Climate of fear
He generates an environment of constant fear. In this way, he ensures that she will never leave him.
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03
Invisible control
A control strategy that those around her cannot see. He employs this strategy to avoid attracting attention.
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