Coronation Street is set to explore the danger of coercive control relationships in a new issue-based storyline.
Viewers have seen Geoff Metcalfe (Ian Bartholomew) exhibit more harsh behaviour around Yasmeen Nazir (Shelley King) in recent weeks, and he's set to escalate his cruel treatment of her in the weeks to come.
Corrie producer Iain MacLeod and his writing team are crafting a storyline with help from Women's Aid and Independent Choices Greater Manchester to reflect the criminal abuse many face if they are involved in coercive control relationships.
Geoff will attempt to control every aspect of Yasmeen's life by encouraging her to pull away from friends, take control of her finances and even go as far as to stage a robbery so he can be seen as her protector.
His cunning manipulation will manage to fool Yasmeen's friends and family, aside from Alya (Sair Khan) raising concerns. Even Yasmeen herself won't see Geoff's growing control over her life as abuse at first.
"It's common for people to think abusive behaviour has to be physical — but you can damage someone profoundly without laying a finger on them," producer Iain MacLeod said today (June 22).
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"Many thousands of people feel trapped in relationships with someone who claims to love them but who is actually taking them apart piece by piece, isolating them from friends and family and locking them in an invisible prison of fear and insecurity. Often, the abusive behaviours accumulate and intensify over time so that you don't realise it's happening — it's an insidious type of brainwashing.
"I hope this story will help anyone going through similar experiences in the real world by highlighting that feeling undermined, belittled, controlled or intimidated by your partner is never okay. The old 'sticks and stones' adage is just plain wrong — words can be instruments of torture and manipulation."
Teresa Parker of Women's Aid expressed hopes that Coronation Street will change the public perception that coercive control relationships aren't widely considered abusive because there's not always physical violence.
"Coercive control underpins almost all abusive relationships, and Geoff has established himself at the centre of Yasmeen's life, and manipulated her in so many ways, controlling what she can and can’t do." Parker said.
"She is doubting her own judgement and memories. Gradually we are seeing the long term effects of living with an abusive partner, as she sees less of her family and friends and becomes increasingly isolated.”
Independent Choices Greater Manchester manager Emma Balfe also applauded the ITV soap for shining a spotlight on such an important issue.
"We know controlling and emotional abusive relationships have an extremely damaging impact on victims' health and wellbeing," Balfe said.
"Victims all detail experiences of isolation, manipulation, threats and control by the perpetrator as illustrated by Geoff in this storyline. Coercive control needs to play a larger role in family violence cases, and we need significant progress after the law change. If any resident of Greater Manchester does feel that the behaviour they are facing in their relationship is coercive, I would encourage them to contact Greater Manchester Domestic Abuse Helpline on 0161 636 7525 for support."
Coronation Street airs on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 7.30pm and 8.30pm on ITV.
Readers who are affected by the issues raised in this story are encouraged to contact Independent Choices Greater Manchester (www.domesticabusehelpline.co.uk) or Women’s Aid (www.womensaid.org.uk). Refuge and Women's run a 24-hour, freephone National Domestic Violence Helpline, 0808 2000 247. The US National Domestic Violence Hotline is 1-800-799-SAFE (7233).
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