Rethinking Coercive Control

Stark, Evan

doi:10.1177/1077801209347452

Cited by 172 publications

(141 citation statements)

References 2 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

130

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Health professionals' dismissal of women's disclosure or their complacent approach to bruising may also mirror perpetrators' minimisation of the violence, a tactic that is widely reported in the literature (Anderson & Umberson, 2001;Stark, 2009). The perpetrators' complacency to their infliction of injuries (Anderson & Umberson, 2010) and the minimisation of violence (Stark, 2009) serve to disempower the women.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Health Professionals’ Responses to Women’s Disclosure of Domestic Violence

Keeling

Fisher

2014

J Interpers Violence

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This study explored women’s experiences of their responses from health professionals following disclosure of domestic violence within a health setting. The existence of health-based policies guiding professionals in the provision of appropriate support following disclosure of domestic violence is only effective if health professionals understand the dynamics of violent relationships. This article focuses on the findings from the interviews conducted with 15 women living in the United Kingdom who disclosed their experiences of domestic violence when accessing health care. Following thematic analysis, themes emerged that rotated around their disclosure and the responses they received from health professionals. The first two themes revealed the repudiation of, or recognition of and failure to act upon, domestic violence. A description of how the health professional’s behavior became analogous with that of the perpetrator is discussed. The final theme illuminated women’s receipt of appropriate and sensitive support, leading to a positive trajectory away from a violent relationship. The findings suggest that the implicit understanding of the dynamics of violent relationships and the behaviors of the perpetrator of domestic violence are essential components of health care provision to avoid inadvertent inappropriate interactions with women.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Health Professionals’ Responses to Women’s Disclosure of Domestic Violence

Keeling

Fisher

2014

J Interpers Violence

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Women are, in addition, frequently forced to have sex against their will often or all the time. 15 According to Ludsin and Vetten, sexual abuse serves not only as a means of control, but also constitutes a form of degradation. 16 In situations of coercive control, an abuser may also regulate what the woman eats, when she sleeps and what she should wear.…”

Section: Coercive Controlmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Controllers generally isolate their partners with the aim of preventing disclosure, to instil dependence and also to restrict the woman's skills and resources in order to prevent her from seeking help and support. 19 The abusive partner will accordingly isolate the woman from her friends, family and other support systems and limit her contact with others to those who support the controller's or abuser's perspectives. 20 Eventually the abusive partner becomes omnipotent and omnipresent with complete control over the abused woman.…”

Section: Coercive Controlmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Recent Trends in Explaining Abuse within Intimate Relationships

Stevens

2014

The Journal of Criminal Law

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This article reflects upon abuse within intimate relationships with specific emphasis on research pertaining to the phenomena of coercive control, Stockholm syndrome and the compliant victim of the sexual sadist, advanced in order to explain the non-physical aspects of abuse within intimate relationships. The battered woman syndrome is accordingly revisited with specific emphasis on the nonvisible aspects of abuse within intimate relationships which are often underestimated and overlooked. The latter is illustrated against the backdrop of the controversial South African case of S v Visser which was the first South African criminal case where these theories were addressed.Keywords: Stockholm syndrome; Coercive control; Intimate abuse; Battered woman syndrome; Sexual sadist Abuse within intimate relationships has been a phenomenon since time immemorial. Domestic abuse is most frequently typified in terms of the physical manifestations of abuse. As such the general approach followed in terms of the assessment of abuse is that of an incident-specific approach in which the severity of abuse is measured against the level of force or amount of injuries inflicted. More often than not, the psychological and, concomitantly, the emotional impact and manifestations of abuse are overlooked.The reality, however, is that a domestic assault is often part of a much larger system of controlling, coercing, intimidating and violent behaviours employed by an abusive partner to control the victim. Such abuse within the intimate sphere comprises a much wider purport than merely the physical manifestation thereof, if this exists.This article provides a prelude to the fairly novel phenomena of coercive control, the Stockholm syndrome and the compliant victim of the sexual sadist as alternative approaches towards assessing abuse within intimate relationships and the subsequent impact on the victim who either retreats towards the abuser or commits other criminal offences as a result of the abusive relationship. The latter phenomena will be addressed against the backdrop of the trial of Cézanne Visser in South Africa in 2009.

show abstract

“…Evan Stark, in his book on coercive control, takes a step towards recognition of multiple victims, highlighting that tactics are not only used by a perpetrator against a survivor, but also against their friends and family members as a means of increasing control over the survivor, most often by promoting a distancing between her and members of her social network. (26) Much of the research mentioned above has focused on the perspectives of survivors, professionals, or people relatively unknown to a survivor (bystanders who are not necessarily in any close relationship with a survivor), with very few studies capturing first-hand accounts from relatives, friends, neighbours and colleagues about their own experiences. To address this, an exploratory qualitative study was undertaken, which sought to explore the ways in which informal supporters themselves describe having been impacted by the abusive situation.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

‘The edge to him was really, really nasty’: abusive tactics used against informal supporters of domestic violence survivors

Gregory

2017

Journal of Gender-Based Violence

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

General rightsThis document is made available in accordance with publisher policies. Please cite only the published version using the reference above. Full terms of use are available: http://www.bristol.ac.uk/pure/about/ebr-terms With a thirty percent life-time prevalence of domestic violence and abuse (DVA) for women across the globe, (2) it is reasonable to assume that most people, at some point in their lives, will be in the position of friend, relative, colleague or neighbour to a DVA survivor. Research suggests that in the majority of cases, friends and family members did know about the abuse their loved one was experiencing or perpetrating,(3, 4) and that most women in an abusive relationship choose to access support from members of their social network.(5-9) Data from the 2015 Crime Survey for England and Wales indicates that of the 88% of intimate partner abuse survivors who had disclosed the abuse they had experienced; 80% had told someone known to them personally (relative, friend, neighbour or colleague), compared with 43% who had told someone in an official position (e.g. police or health professional), and 32% who had contacted a specialist organisation.(9) Because of the primacy given by survivors to the people around them, in terms of disclosure and help-seeking, the responses, judgements and behaviours of these people have the potential to significantly help or harm the situation. (4,8,9) Much of the existing research regarding DVA survivors' social networks, has focussed on people who are 'bystanders' to the survivor's situation, in other words, people who are witnesses to particular events or incidents, but are not involved (including people who know the survivor and/or perpetrator and those who are strangers). This research has sought to explore the roles people play and their willingness, or not, to be involved in the situation, (4,6,10,11) and has tended to concentrate on understanding, and developing interventions to reduce apathy, and increase a sense of responsibility

show abstract

Rethinking Coercive Control

Cited by 172 publications

References 2 publications

Health Professionals’ Responses to Women’s Disclosure of Domestic Violence

Health Professionals’ Responses to Women’s Disclosure of Domestic Violence

Recent Trends in Explaining Abuse within Intimate Relationships

‘The edge to him was really, really nasty’: abusive tactics used against informal supporters of domestic violence survivors

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About