Tools and Tactics

Abstract

Coercive control includes, but goes beyond, an examination of physical violence by considering a plethora of on-going non-physical methods intentionally employed by perpetrators of romantic terrorism to maintain power and control over their victims. This chapter explores some of these power and control tactics under the following headings: (1) Threats and intimidation; (2) Humiliation, degradation and emotional unkindness; (3) Restricting personal territory and freedom; and (4) Crazy making. These categories were constructed from a range of models, including methods of coercive control identified by Stark (2007), perpetrator tactics highlighted by Jones (2000) in her comparative work on terrorism/torture and intimate partner violence and tactics identified by Murphy (2014, 2009, 2002) in her in-depth interviews with perpetrators and victims of intimate partner violence in Australia and New Zealand.