To reduce the stubbornly high number of women emotionally and financially abused by their husbands, NSW is considering a fundamental change in the way marriages are policed: by prosecuting spouses who control their partners' behaviour.

State Attorney-General Mark Speakman has, under pressure from domestic violence advocates and the Labor opposition, promised to fast-track a review by the NSW Department of Justice into laws that criminalise what is known as coercive control.