Drawing on cases, Stark identifies the problems with our current approach to domestic violence, outlines the components of coercive control, and then uses this alternate framework to analyse the cases of battered women charged with criminal offenses directed at their abusers.

When you are showered with attention, it can feel incredibly romantic and can blind you to hints of problems ahead. But what happens when attentiveness becomes domination? In some relationships, the desire to control leads to jealousy, threats, micromanaging--even physical violence. If you or someone you care about are trapped in a web of coercive control, this book provides answers, hope, and a way out. Lisa Aronson Fontes draws on both professional expertise and personal experience to help you: *Recognize controlling behaviors of all kinds. *Understand why this destructive pattern occurs. *Determine whether you are in danger and if your partner can change. *Protect yourself and your kids. *Find the support and resources you need. *Take action to improve or end your relationship. *Regain your freedom and independence.

This book offers a critical appreciation of the nature and impact of coercive control in interpersonal relationships. It examines what this concept means, who is impacted by the behaviours it captures, and how academics, policymakers, and policy advocates have responded to the increasing recognition of the deleterious effects that coercive control has on especially women’s lives. The book discusses the historical emergence of this concept, who its main proponents have been, and how its effects have been understood. It considers the role of coercive control in making sense of women’s pathway into crime as well as their experiences of it as victims. Coercive control has been presented predominantly as a gendered process, and consideration is given in this book to the efficacy of this assumption as well as the extent to which the concept makes sense for a wide constituency of marginalized women. In recent years, much energy has been given to efforts to criminalize coercive control, and the concerns that these efforts generate are discussed in detail, alongside what the limitations to such initiatives might be. In conclusion, the book situates the rising pre-occupation with coercive control within the broader concerns with policy transfer, ways of taking account of victim-survivor voices, alongside the importance of working towards more holistic policy responses to violence(s) against women. The book will be of particular interest to academics, policymakers, and practitioners working in criminal justice who wish to understand both the nature and extent of coercive control and the importance of appreciating the role of nuance in translating that understanding into practice.

This book considers whether coercive control (particularly non-physical forms of family violence) should be prohibited by the criminal law. Based on the premise that traditional understandings of family violence are severely limited, it considers whether the core of family violence is power-based controlling or coercive behavior: attempts by men to psychologically dominate their partners. Such behavior can cause significant psychological, physical and economic harms to victims and is increasingly recognized as a form of human rights abuse. The book considers the new offences that have been introduced in England and Wales (controlling or coercive behavior), Ireland (controlling behavior) and Scotland (domestic abuse). It invites consideration of three key questions: Do conventional criminal laws adequately regulate non-physical abuse? Is the criminal law an appropriate mechanism for responding to the coercive control of family members? And if a new and distinctive offence is warranted, what is the optimal form of that offence? This ground-breaking work is essential reading for researchers and practitioners interested in coercive control and the proper role of the criminal law as a mechanism for regulating family violence.

Coercive Control provides a beacon for survivors of partner abuse. Parker's nonjudgmental, empathic voice offers knowledge gleaned from years of experience. Survivors gain answers to frequently asked questions: • Am I being abused? • Why do they hurt me? • Why do I feel so crazy? • What can I change? • Why do they believe they should control us? • How do I recognize abuse of power? • How do I heal? Each chapter contains illustrative vignettes and suggestions for reflection to assist readers in discovering what they want. Coercive Relationships lifts the private shame survivors feel by connecting their abusers' actions to societal values and beliefs that permit all forms of violence.

Domestic abuse is a national emergency: one in four Australian women has experienced violence from a man she was intimate with. But too often we ask the wrong question: why didn’t she leave? We should be asking: why did he do it? Investigative journalist Jess Hill puts perpetrators – and the systems that enable them – in the spotlight. See What You Made Me Do is a deep dive into the abuse so many women and children experience – abuse that is often reinforced by the justice system they trust to protect them. Critically, it shows that we can drastically reduce domestic violence – not in generations to come, but today. Combining forensic research with riveting storytelling, See What You Made Me Do radically rethinks how to confront the national crisis of fear and abuse in our homes. ‘A shattering book: clear-headed and meticulous, driving always at the truth’—Helen Garner ‘One Australian a week is dying as a result of domestic abuse. If that was terrorism, we’d have armed guards on every corner.’ —Jimmy Barnes ‘Confronting in its honesty this book challenges you to keep reading no matter how uncomfortable it is to face the profound rawness of people’s stories. Such a well written book and so well researched. See What You Made Me Do sheds new light on this complex issue that affects so many of us.’—Rosie Batty

The devastation of a controlling relationship has to be endured to be believed. From the constant fear of upsetting your spouse, the walking on eggshells in case you've done or said something wrong, or the relentless feeling of anxiety, a controlling partner will beat you down until you no longer recognize yourself. Coercive control will see an abuser dominate their victim's life; from the food they eat, the people they see, the places they can go and the things they can say. A controlling partner, through fear and intimidation, will seek to ensure their victim is subdued, to the point of accepting any and all abuse that's fired their way. By manipulation, gaslighting, lies, and hurtful insults, the abuser will make their victim a willing puppet on a string, ready to be utilized how the controlling spouse sees fit. Coercive control is seldom talked about in comparison to other forms of abuse, yet it's so commonplace in relationships. Plenty of victims of this type of behavior may not even be aware that's it's full-blown abuse. Many more see controlling behavior as their partner's way of showing they 'care'. In order to shed light on this topic, and reach out to those who need help in understanding and overcoming a controlling partner, I have created this book as their starting point. I was shackled to a malignant narcissist for many years of my life, being controlled and manipulated, day-in, day-out. As a proud survivor of abuse, I feel obligated to help others in their journey towards getting their power back and recovering from the cruel effects of an abusive relationship. This book will cover the following: - what coercive control is - the devastating effects of a controlling relationship - financial coercion - breaking the spell of abuse - coercive control after separating I use my own experiences, as well as those of the survivors I've connected with via Escape the Narcissist, to help piece together the things you need to know about this type of abusive relationship.