No Idle Threat: Coercive Control and Enacted Violence in the Pre-Prison Relationships of Incarcerated Women

Keywords

coercive control, domestic violence, intimate partner violence, gender, incarcerated women

Abstract

While much research documents physical and sexual abusive experiences in the lives of women prisoners, less is known about their experiences with coercive control. Utilizing Dutton, Goodman, and Schmidt's (2008)measures of coercive control and framed by a feminist pathways approach, this study examines the connections between experiences of coercive control and physical and sexual violence in adult intimate relationships, including how women perceive and respond to experiences of coercion. Findings demonstrate how incarcerated women experience significant levels of control, manipulation, threats, and demands from their partners in relation to personal activities, financial resources, interpersonal interactions, illegal activities, and other areas. Moreover, findings show these threats and demands to be aggressively enforced and directly related to physical and sexual violence against these women, as well as threats to the safety and security of their family, friends, and children. Additional findings and details are discussed.

Original Publication Citation

McLeod, David A., Melissa S. Jones, Susan F. Sharp, and Leah Gatlin*. 2019. “No Idle Threat: Coercive Control and Enacted Violence in the Pre-Prison Relationships of Incarcerated Women.” Violence and Victims 34(3): 452-473.

Document Type

Peer-Reviewed Article

Publication Date

2019

Permanent URL

http://hdl.lib.byu.edu/1877/6903

Publisher

Violence and Victims

Language

English

College

Family, Home, and Social Sciences

Department

Sociology

University Standing at Time of Publication

Assistant Professor

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