Abstract
Over the past ten years the theoretical framework of ‘coercive control’ has been increasingly applied, critiqued and now underpins a criminal offence. While many argue that it more accurately reflects experiences of victimisation, there has been little exploration of coercive control through the accounts of perpetrators. Through two phased interviews with 64 men attending UK Domestic Violence Perpetrator Programmes, we examine how and why men use coercive tactics and how unpicking gender norms enabled some men to recognise and reduce their use of coercive control. We argue that coercive control is more dynamic, contestable and open to change than previous research has suggested. Some men did manage to take steps away from investing in traditional masculine norms and reduce their use of coercive tactics. However, this was an uneven and contradictory process which took time – involving painful realisations of loss and harm alongside a discovery of the benefits associated with letting go of restrictive gender norms. Understanding how and why men invest in or dismantle gender norms that underpin coercive control has important implications for theory and for practice, particularly the content and focus of work with domestic violence perpetrators.
Highlights
The perpetration of domestic violence by partners and ex-partners, known as intimate partner violence, is a complex social problem which, despite its prevalence, is experienced as highly specific, isolating and personalised
Domestic V iolence Perpetrator Programmes (DVPPs) can provide space, resources and opportunities for men to disrupt gender at the levels of identity,interaction and social structure (Anderson 2009).W e argue that coercive control is more dynamic, contestable and, crucially, open to change than previous research has suggested
In this paper we have presented a gender analysis of new empirical findings that advance current understandings of coercive control based on a large dataset of phased interviews with men participating in multiple DVPPs across Britain
Summary
The perpetration of domestic violence by partners and ex-partners, known as intimate partner violence, is a complex social problem which, despite its prevalence, is experienced as highly specific, isolating and personalised. The study reported on here involved two phased interviews with men (and female partners, discussed elsewhere, for example, Kelly and Westmarland 2015). In these interviews, questions of how and why men use control and coercion was explored, and the data reveals some of the contradictions and complexities that men face when asked to confront their actions within DVPPs. This paper fills a gap in understanding men’s use of coercive control through the voices of men themselves. DVPPs can provide space, resources and opportunities for men to disrupt gender at the levels of identity,interaction and social structure (Anderson 2009).W e argue that coercive control is more dynamic, contestable and, crucially, open to change than previous research has suggested. Change is interlinked with the letting go of deeply held, restrictive gender norms, changes can be uneven and contradictory, involving both realisations of loss and of the benefits of letting go of gender norms
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