Coronation Street has announced that they are planning to introduce a storyline which explores the effects of a coercive, controlling relationship, and will involve Geoff Metcalfe and Yasmeen Nazir. The new storyline, which aims to increase awareness of this form of domestic abuse, will see Geoff escalate his controlling behaviour by staging a robbery so he can be seen protecting Yasmeen, isolating her from her family and taking control of her bank account.
The storyline will be between Geoff and Yasmin
In the show, Yasmeen was initially be unaware about how controlling he is being, which will become a point of concern with Alya. Coronation Street producer Iain Macleod said: "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. 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."
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Women's Aid worked with the scriptwriter
Speaking about the storyline, Women's Aid head of media relations said: "We were pleased to be able to work with the scriptwriters and advise on the development of the coercive control storyline. This form of abuse was only established as a criminal offence in 2015 after years of campaigning, and it is important that we increase awareness and understanding of this form of domestic abuse. Many people think that unless there is physical abuse, it doesn’t count. 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. She is doubting her own judgement and memories."
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