Coercive Control in Relationships
Coercive control is a pattern of behavior that creates an environment of fear, isolation, and dependency. It often involves emotional, mental, and financial abuse, leading to a loss of self-confidence over time. Learn how to identify, address, and prevent coercion in relationships.
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Presentation Transcript
COERCIVE COERCIVE CONTROL CONTROL INVISIBLE CHAINS Amber Merucci
AGENDA AGENDA What is Coercive Control? Involving Children Impact on Victim Ways to Support Additional Resources
WHAT IS COERCIVE CONTROL?
4 COERCIVE CONTROL COERCIVE CONTROL Coercive control is a pattern of behaviour or acts which create an environment where an individual feels controlled, isolated, dependent, intimidated, humiliated, threatened, exploited, and/or terrorized. Source: Women s Aid Federation Northern Ireland. (2023) Coercive Control. https://www.womensaidni.org/what-is-domestic- abuse/coercive-control/
5 COERCIVE CONTROL COERCIVE CONTROL Coercive control is often invisible, as it involves emotional, mental, and financial abuse, as well as restricting an individuals liberty. Coercive control is often a precursor to physical violence, including femicide. Source: Regroupement des maisons pour femmes victimes de violence conjugale. (2022) Le contr le coercitif, un levier pour mieux rep rer et intervenir en contexte de violence conjugale. https://maisons-femmes.qc.ca/wp- content/uploads/2022/05/RMFVVC-Revue-controle-coercitif-2022.pdf
6 COERCIVE CONTROL COERCIVE CONTROL Coercive control is understood to be an intentional and deliberate pattern of behaviour. Source: Women s Aid Federation Northern Ireland. (2023) Coercive Control. https://www.womensaidni.org/what-is-domestic- abuse/coercive-control/
7 EXAMPLES EXAMPLES SOURCE: HTTPS://WWW.WOMENSAID.ORG.UK/INFORMATION SOURCE: HTTPS://WWW.WOMENSAID.ORG.UK/INFORMATION- -SUPPORT/WHAT CONTROL/#:~:TEXT=COERCIVE%20CONTROL%20CREATES%20INVISIBLE%20CHAI CONTROL/#:~:TEXT=COERCIVE%20CONTROL%20CREATES%20INVISIBLE%20CHAINS,CONTROL%20TO%20BEING%20TAKEN%20HOSTAGE. SUPPORT/WHAT- -IS NS,CONTROL%20TO%20BEING%20TAKEN%20HOSTAGE. IS- -DOMESTIC DOMESTIC- -ABUSE/COERCIVE ABUSE/COERCIVE- - ISOLATE DEPRIVE MONITOR CONTROL PUT DOWN Isolate you from family and friends and other supports. Deprive you from basic needs such as food and from access to supports such as medical services. Monitor your time and behaviour. May use online communication tools or spyware. Control aspects of everyday life (what you eat, what you wear, who you see, where you go, when you sleep ). Control your finances. Make threats or intimidate. Repeatedly put you down (you re worthless). Humiliate, degrade, dehumanize.
8 COERCIVE CONTROL COERCIVE CONTROL It can be a gradual process which over time can lead to a total loss of confidence and sense of self. Source: Women s Aid Federation Northern Ireland. (2023) Coercive Control. https://www.womensaidni.org/what-is-domestic- abuse/coercive-control/
9 GRADUAL PROCESS GRADUAL PROCESS CONTROL HUMILIATE CONTROL THREATEN ISOLATE Makes negative comments about how often you talk to your family and tells you you re attachment to them is unhealthy. Refuses to spend time with your family any longer because they are ignored and not given enough attention by you when they re doing you a favor being there. Complains when you go see your family and how it interferes with the little time you have together. Suggests once per month is enough time to visit family. Suggests that all the time you spend away from your partner and with your family makes your partner feel like they should just be single. Takes the vehicle each time you have plans to see family. Stops speaking to you when you return from seeing family.
REFLECTION REFLECTION Watch the upcoming video. Does anything stand out to you when thinking about what coercive control looks like?
11 COERCIVE CONTROL COERCIVE CONTROL Video: https://youtu.be/36mQFefBylM
COERCIVE CONTROL: INVOLVING CHILDREN
13 INVOLVING CHILDREN INVOLVING CHILDREN Children can experience coercive control by one or both parents/guardians. Children may become a sort of pawn between parents/guardians when coercive control is present.
14 INVOLVING CHILDREN INVOLVING CHILDREN CONTINUED CONTINUED When coercive control is present, parents/guardians may use their children as tools or pawns at any age; from the moment of birth and continuing into adulthood.
15 INVOLVING CHILDREN INVOLVING CHILDREN CONTINUED CONTINUED This can cause children to favor one parent over another, refuse to see a parent, behave differently when around a parent and could cause them to question a parent s mental stability and capabilities. Source: https://www.vawlearningnetwork.ca/our-work/issuebased_newsletters/issue-37/index.html
16 INVOLVING CHILDREN INVOLVING CHILDREN CONTINUED CONTINUED Children can also be used by a parent to control the other parent by asking children invasive questions, putting tracking devices on children s belongings, or encouraging a child not to see their parent and making them feel intimidated/ashamed when they do. Source: https://www.vawlearningnetwork.ca/our-work/issuebased_newsletters/issue-37/index.html
COERCIVE CONTROL: IMPACT ON VICTIM
18 IMPACT ON VICTIM IMPACT ON VICTIM WHO AM I? I M NOT ENOUGH I M AFRAID I M CONFUSED I M DEPRIVED Living in fear of doing the wrong thing and feeling the constant need to ask permission Isolated and prevented from accessing supports due to fear and intimidation Loss of confidence and increase in dependency on perpetrator Entrapped in a world of confusion and contradiction Loss of a sense of self Source: https://www.coercivecontrolavictimsguide.co.uk/impact-on-the-victim
19 IMPACT ON VICTIM IMPACT ON VICTIM (CONTINUED) (CONTINUED) Individuals are impacted in many ways, some ways more tangible than others (i.e., physical/medical, financial, employment). What is at the core of the impact is loss; loss of a sense of self, loss of liberty, and loss of relationships. Source: https://womensaid.scot/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/CoerciveControl.pdf
20 MY SON WAS STOLEN FROM ME AT 5 YEARS OLD AND HASN T SPOKEN TO ME SINCE HE WAS 10. IT S BEEN 13 YEARS. Sagkeeng First Nations woman, Manitoba
COERCIVE CONTROL: WAYS TO SUPPORT
22 WAYS TO SUPPORT WAYS TO SUPPORT BELIEVE THEM AND DON T EXPECT TRUST IN RETURN DO NOT REMAIN NEUTRAL AND SHOW COMPASSION ENCOURAGE THEM TO TRUST THEMSELVES AND TO CONNECT WITH OTHERS WHO WILL SUPPORT THEM
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES ADDITIONAL RESOURCES Manitoba Association of Women s Shelters - maws.mb.ca Klinic Crisis Line (24/7) 1-888-322-3019 Manitoba Suicide Prevention & Support Line 1-877-435-7170 Sexual Assault Crisis Line (24/7) 1-888-292-7565 womensaid.org.uk domesticshelters.org
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES ADDITIONAL RESOURCES Dale, A., Maki, K. and Nitia, R. (2021). Expert Engagement to Address and Prevent Gender-Based Violence Final Report. Ottawa, ON: Women s Shelters Canada Women s Aid Federation Northern Ireland. (2023) Coercive Control. https://www.womensaidni.org/what-is-domestic- abuse/coercive-control/
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES ADDITIONAL RESOURCES Heward-Belle, S. (2017) Exploiting the good mother as a tactic of coercive control: Domestically violent men s assaults on women as mothers , Journal of Women and Social Work May Stark, E. (2007) Coercive Control: How Men entrap Women in Personal Life. (Oxford: Oxford University Press)
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES ADDITIONAL RESOURCES Katz, E (2016) Beyond the Physical Incident Model: How Children Living with Domestic Violence are Harmed by and Resist Regimes of Coercive Control , Child Abuse Review, 25 (1): 46-59 Krug E et al. (2002) World Report on Violence and Health: Volume 1. (Geneva: World Health Organisation)
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES ADDITIONAL RESOURCES Williamson, E, 2010, Living in the world of the domestic violence perpetrator: Negotiating the unreality of coercive control . Violence Against Women, vol 16., pp. 1412 1423 Herman, J. (1992) Trauma And Recovery (New York: Basic Books)
THANK YOU THANK YOU Dr. Amber Merucci BSW, MA, PhD Gender-Based Violence Project Specialist Manitoba Association of Women s Shelters (MAWS) amber@maws.mb.ca
