What's New

^{28 November 2025}

Listen Deeply, See Clearly:

New Campaign Targets Coercive Control Awareness in Aboriginal Communities

In partnership with Family Violence Legal Service Aboriginal Corporation, Legal Services has launched Listen Deeply, See Clearly, a community-led initiative designed to raise awareness of coercive control and encourage conversations about its impact in Aboriginal communities.

Legal Services CEO, Annmarie Lumsden, said this initiative highlights the importance of working with community to develop appropriate resources that resonate with Aboriginal communities.

“Coercive control often hides in silence. Listen Deeply, See Clearly is a call to action for all of us – families, first responders, and institutions – to look beyond assumptions and listen with intent,” Ms Lumsden said.

Listen Deeply, See Clearly has initially been rolled out targeting Port Augusta and surrounding communities, with plans to extend the reach to more communities in the coming months through ongoing collaboration with the Family Violence Legal Service Aboriginal Corporation. 

The initiative, co-designed with Aboriginal women from Port Augusta and surrounding communities, and the Family Violence Legal Service Aboriginal Corporation, reflects the voices of community and the need for a coercive control message that sparks meaningful conversations.

A key feature of the initiative was the development and distribution of t-shirts, featuring the call to action and flag design, with the following meaning:

• Ochre background – representing Country
• Rising purple sun – symbolising growing awareness of coercive control and domestic violence
• White halo – representing peace.

“The t-shirts are for the community; they are to be worn with the intention that they encourage conversations about coercive control,” Ms Lumsden said.

“Coercive control is a pattern of behaviour where someone uses power and fear to take away another person’s freedom. It is not limited to physical violence – it can include isolating someone from family and community, controlling finances, using shame or threats, and monitoring movements excessively.”

“In community, coercive control can look like stopping someone from seeing mob or attending cultural events, dictating who they can talk to or what they wear, controlling money or humbugging family for financial gain, and using shame or threats to silence them.”

For more information about coercive control and available supports, visit Listen Deeply, See Clearly: see the signs of coercive control.