Summary

Coercive control is a pattern of violent behaviour that seeks to take away a person’s freedom and to strip away their sense of self. Physical violence may be used alongside a range of other tactics such as isolation, mind-games and the micro-regulation of everyday life. The person using abuse creates a world in which the person experiencing abuse is constantly monitored and criticized; their every move is checked against an unpredictable, ever-changing, unknowable rule book.Sagesse utilizes a coercive control model when addressing the issue of domestic abuse across Alberta. Operating from the perspective that most cases of domestic abuse fall under the definition of coercive control with different tactics being used to facilitate this violence (physical, emotional, sexual, etc.), Sagesse believes our clients and communities benefit from understanding coercive control and how it may appear in their lives, or the lives of people around them. This presentation will explore the basics of coercive control through case studies from our agencies client base.  We will delve into the usage of manipulation, grooming and coercion that can be likened to that used in cults or extremist groups.  We will share our models for working with clients experiencing coercive control as well as the policy and system level advocacy work that is required to elevate this issue to the attention required for positive impact. Participants in this workshop will leave with increased knowledge about the social shifts required to adjust and adapt our current models for understanding domestic abuse and the positive primary prevention implications of this shift.  With a focus on curating an interactive space within this workshop, collectively we will address issues of equity and social change.  Participants will leave the workshop with concrete ideas for incorporating a coercive control lens within their work and communities. 

Keywords (separate with commas)

domestic abuse, coercive control, social change, primary prevention, education and learning, innovation, adaptation