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What is an SCC Report?
A Systemic Coercive Control (SCC) Specialist Report is a structured assessment of the nature, pattern, and impact of coercive control in a relationship. It is prepared by a specialist practitioner with extensive expertise in coercive control, social entrapment, and systemic coercive control — and it offers something that standard assessments cannot.
Specialist opinion grounded in expertise and experience
The SCC report provides a qualified specialist practitioner opinion on whether the described pattern of behaviour is consistent with coercive control as defined in the research literature (Stark, 2007). This is not simply a summary of what happened. It is an analytical assessment of whether the pattern, the context, and the impact of the conduct constitute a course of strategic and oppressive conduct and what that means for the primary victim’s liberty, autonomy, and safety. It draws on over 18 years of family violence practice, doctoral research in institutional systems abuse, and mentorship by Professor Evan Stark, the leading international authority on coercive control.
Social entrapment analysis
The report goes beyond the relational pattern to analyse social entrapment across three layers: the direct relational coercive control that produced psychological captivity; the systems abuse - including how social communities, organisations, professionals, formal institutions, and legal processes were manipulated by the perpetrator or failed to protect; and the structural and systemic inequities that compounded the primary victim’s vulnerability at every layer. This three-layer analysis makes visible the conditions that explain why leaving was not straightforward, why help-seeking produced limited results, and why the primary victim’s responses reflect constrained options rather than choice.
Legal systems abuse
For Family Court matters, the report specifically documents the use of legal processes, parenting pathways, and court mechanisms as instruments of post-separation control - connecting this to the wider pattern of coercive conduct. Legal systems abuse is one of the most significant and least understood dimensions of post-separation coercive control, and one that the SCC framework is specifically designed to make visible to the court.
Reports can be used in criminal proceedings, protection order applications,legal aid write-offs and Family Court parenting and care disputes.
The Process
Initial conversation
A free conversation to talk about your situation and whether an SCC report is the right pathway. No obligation.
Stage 1 SCC Narrative Map and Pattern Index
A structured narrative process across multiple sessions, capturing your experience in your own words across 20 assessed domains of coercive control. The Pattern Index provides a structured assessment of the pattern. This stage can stand alone for protection order applications or where legal aid does not cover the full report.
Stage 2 — SCC Specialist Report
Drawing on your Narrative Map, Pattern Index, supporting documents, and the legal bundle where relevant, a specialist report is prepared for the relevant court or proceedings. You review the report before it is finalised. Nothing is filed without your knowledge and agreement.
Legal aid
A quote can be provided for legal aid approval on request. Legal aid fees are invoiced to the instructing lawyer. Other funding pathways may also be available — please enquire.
Pro bono
A small number of pro bono assessments are available each year for women where financial access is a barrier. Offered case-by-case subject to workload. Please enquire confidentially.
