This work happens because people show up

Get involved

ICAM runs on contributed content, advocacy, and volunteer time. Whatever you have to offer — a piece of writing, a phone call to a representative, a few hours a month — there’s a place for it here.

Contribute

Share your content

We’re looking for social media content, articles, academic work, and video to share and discuss throughout August. Use the form below and let us know what you can contribute.

Social content

Graphics, short-form video, or posts that fit the campaign’s weekly themes.

Articles

Written pieces on coercive control, cult dynamics, or recovery — survivor perspective or research-based.

Academic work

Research, citations, or findings that strengthen the evidence base behind this campaign’s content.

Video

Interviews, explainers, or survivor stories suitable for sharing during the month.

Advocate

Push for policy change

Coercive control is increasingly recognized in law — but unevenly, and there’s real work left to do.

11 U.S. states with enacted coercive control legislation

As of 2026, eleven U.S. states — including California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Vermont, and Washington — have enacted coercive control legislation, most of it civil (protective orders, child custody) rather than criminal. Hawaii remains the only state to have criminalized coercive control directly. Bills are pending in several more states, including New York, Maryland, South Carolina, and West Virginia.

Evan Stark’s foundational framework for coercive control — cited throughout this site’s weekly content — has directly informed this legislative wave. Contacting your state representatives to support coercive-control-specific legislation, whether or not your state has already acted, is one of the most concrete things an individual can do this month.

Volunteer

Give your time

The Freedom Train Project relies on volunteers for webinars, workshops, support groups, and the day-to-day work of running ICAM every August. Use the form below to let us know how you’d like to help.

Reach out

Tell us what you can offer

This form is for people who’d like to volunteer or contribute to the campaign. To help keep you safe, please don’t share sensitive personal details or your own experiences here — a name and a short note about how you’d like to help is all we need. If you’re looking for support for yourself or someone you care about, our Get Help page has confidential resources.

Need help now

If you or someone you know is currently in a coercive relationship or group, you don’t have to figure this out alone.

Find support resources

Want to learn

Start with the fundamentals of coercive control and how it takes hold, week by week.

Start the campaign
Look beyond the surface
Understand the patterns
Believe survivors
Support recovery
Change the system