A scoping review of policing and coercive control in lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer plus intimate relationships

Abstract

Coercive control is a form of intimate partner violence (IPV) that encompasses non‐physical behaviors used to constrain and entrap a partner. Coercive control is especially relevant to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer plus (LGBTQ+) relationships when abusers target the gender and sexual identity of their partners. Victim‐survivors, community members, and service providers often struggle to identify and intervene with this form of abuse. The role of police responding to coercive control is poorly understood, despite laws and calls to criminalize coercive control. Police responses to physical abuse in LGBTQ + relationships have caused harm, and it is important to extend this knowledge to police responses to coercive control. We conducted a systematic scoping review of international academic and gray literature sources published from 2014 through 2022 on the topic of policing coercive control within LGBTQ+ intimate relationships. We identified four interrelated policing themes across 35 sources: (1) reluctance to seek help from the police, (2) low rates of reporting abuse to police, (3) police actions following reports of IPV and coercive control, and (4) police harassment and violence increasing the experience of coercive control. Our review confirms that more research is needed on LGBTQ+ survivors of coercive control and their help‐seeking, as laws and calls to criminalize coercive control may not benefit LGBTQ+ communities.