Coercive Control as the Context for Intimate Partner Violence: The Challenge for the Legal System

Protection orders (POs) are one legal system resource available to survivors of intimate partner violence. Many survivors choose not to obtain a PO, yet prior research has not examined the perspectives of these survivors. This study examined the open-ended survey responses ( n = 308) regarding the choice not to obtain a PO by survivors residing in emergency shelters in the United States. Content analysis indicated that many survivors made deliberate decisions to not seek safety through this venue. Survivors indicated that a PO may increase their partner’s violence, identified substantial barriers, evaluated a PO as unnecessary, preferred alternative strategies, were dealing with complex partner dynamics, and chose to protect their loved ones by not seeking a PO. Women with marginalized identities, in particular, indicated that there are multiple costs to seeking interventions within the legal system. Structural changes are needed within the legal system to facilitate access to justice for survivors.

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Justice as a Tertiary Prevention Strategy

Preventing Intimate Partner Violence ◽

10.1332/policypress/9781447333050.003.0008 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Leigh Goodmark

Keyword(s):

Intimate Partner Violence ◽

Legal System ◽

Partner Violence ◽

Intimate Partner ◽

Tertiary Prevention ◽

Prevention Strategy ◽

Legal Response ◽

The Law ◽

Criminal Legal System

This chapter addresses the question, what is justice, in the context of intimate partner violence (IPV) and examines the use of law and the legal system for the prevention of IPV revictimization (tertiary prevention). The chapter highlights the limitations of the law and criminal legal system for achieving justice for specific groups of IPV survivors, and the potential for this system cause further harm. The chapter considers alternatives to the traditional criminal legal response to IPV to secure justice and safety for IPV survivors.

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Coercive control in intimate partner violence: Relationship with women’s experience of violence, use of violence, and danger.

Psychology of Violence ◽

10.1037/vio0000158 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 8 (5) ◽

pp. 596-604 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Melissa E. Dichter ◽

Kristie A. Thomas ◽

Paul Crits-Christoph ◽

Shannon N. Ogden ◽

Karin V. Rhodes

Keyword(s):

Intimate Partner Violence ◽

Partner Violence ◽

Intimate Partner ◽

Coercive Control ◽

Women's Experience

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Development and Validation of a Coercive Control Measure for Intimate Partner Violence in Boston, Massachusetts and Washington, DC, 2004

ICPSR Data Holdings ◽

10.3886/icpsr04570.v1 ◽

2008 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Mary Ann Dutton ◽

Lisa Goodman ◽

R. James Schmidt

Keyword(s):

Intimate Partner Violence ◽

Partner Violence ◽

Control Measure ◽

Intimate Partner ◽

Washington Dc ◽

Coercive Control ◽

Development And Validation

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The Study Approach and Methodology

Women, Intimate Partner Violence, and the Law ◽

10.1093/oso/9780190071783.003.0002 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 10-30

Author(s):

Heather Douglas

Keyword(s):

Intimate Partner Violence ◽

Legal System ◽

Partner Violence ◽

Intimate Partner ◽

Study Approach ◽

Over Time

The chapter outlines the approach and methodology of the study that underpins this book. This study draws on interviews with 65 women who have experienced intimate partner violence (IPV) and interacted with the legal system. The women were interviewed on three occasions over a 3-year period to understand how their experiences of law changed over time. This chapter also describes the characteristics of the women who took part in the study and the limitations of the study. It provides an overview of previous studies that have interviewed people over time and considers the choice of language used in this book.

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Judges in the Protection Orders and Family Law Systems

Women, Intimate Partner Violence, and the Law ◽

10.1093/oso/9780190071783.003.0008 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 184-214

Author(s):

Heather Douglas

Keyword(s):

Intimate Partner Violence ◽

Legal System ◽

Partner Violence ◽

Child Custody ◽

Family Law ◽

Physical Violence ◽

Intimate Partner ◽

Family Courts ◽

Protection Orders ◽

The Family

This chapter explores women’s interactions with judges when they appeared before them in relation to protection orders and child custody orders after experiencing intimate partner violence (IPV). Commonly women identified that judges prioritized physical violence and minimized other forms of abuse and that they seemed to align with abusers, discounting the women’s experiences of abuse. Women identified that judges often lacked preparation for hearings, rubber-stamped witness subpoenas, and failed to stop irrelevant witness examination. They explained how these approaches facilitated their partner’s misuse of the legal system as a tactic of abuse. Women also discussed how judges, especially in the family courts, prioritized fathers’ rights to contact with children over safety. However, women’s stories also demonstrated resistance to their abuser’s control over them through the courts, and their efforts to ensure the safety of their children regardless of court orders.

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Women and Men’s Use of Coercive Control in Intimate Partner Violence

Violence and Victims ◽

10.1891/0886-6708.26.2.208 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 26 (2) ◽

pp. 208-217 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

Kirsten Robertson ◽

Tamar Murachver

Keyword(s):

Intimate Partner Violence ◽

Partner Violence ◽

Intimate Partner ◽

Coercive Control ◽

Men And Women ◽

Violent Relationships ◽

Three Samples ◽

Conflict Tactics ◽

The Relationship ◽

Controlling Behaviors

This study examined the relationship between coercive control and intimate partner violence (IPV) for men and women and for targets and perpetrators. One hundred and seventy-two participants (85 men, 87 women) recruited from three samples reported on their own and their partner’s behavior. IPV was measured using the Revised Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS2). Coercive control was measured using modified items from the Psychological Maltreatment of Women Inventory (PMWI). Coercive control was associated with IPV, and this relationship was similar for men and women across the three samples. In fact, coercive control was predominantly reciprocal in nature, with women and men reporting both receiving and perpetrating controlling behaviors. Overall, coercive controlling behaviors were characteristic of individuals within violent relationships, regardless of their physical abuse status. The experience of violence, rather than gender, was the best predictor of coercive control.

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The Involvement of Children in Postseparation Intimate Partner Violence in Italy: A Strategy to Maintain Coercive Control?

Affilia ◽

10.1177/0886109919857672 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 34 (4) ◽

pp. 481-497

Author(s):

Mariachiara Feresin ◽

Federica Bastiani ◽

Lucia Beltramini ◽

Patrizia Romito

Keyword(s):

Intimate Partner Violence ◽

Qualitative Study ◽

Partner Violence ◽

Intimate Partner ◽

Coercive Control ◽

Multimethod Research ◽

Complex Design ◽

Qualitative Part ◽

Depth Interviews

Violence against women often continues after couples separate. Although the involvement of children in intimate partner violence is known, no study has investigated the role of children in postseparation violence in southern Europe. The aim of this study was to analyze male perpetrators’ strategies to maintain control over the woman after couples separate and the involvement of children in this process. We designed a multimethod research with a sample of women attending five anti-violence centers in Italy: In the quantitative part, women were interviewed with a questionnaire ( N = 151) at baseline and followed up 18 months later ( N = 91); in the qualitative part, in-depth interviews were carried out with women ( N = 13) attending the same centers. Results showed that women experienced high levels of violence and that children were deeply involved. When women with children were no longer living with the violence perpetrator, threats, violence, manipulation, and controlling behaviors occurred during father–child contacts: 78.9% of women in the longitudinal survey and all women in the qualitative study reported at least one of these unsettling behaviors. The qualitative study allowed for discovering some specific perpetrator strategies. Making the woman feel guilty, threatening, denigrating, and impoverishing her; preventing her from living a normal life; and trying to destroy the mother–child bond were key elements of a complex design aimed at maintaining coercive control over the ex-partner. Results from this multimethod study provided a deeper understanding of the mechanisms of coercive control and postseparation violence and how perpetrators use children to fulfill their aims.

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