Gender, risk assessment and coercive control: Contradictions in terms?

Abstract

In December 2015, the criminal offence of coercive control was introduced in England and Wales. Whilst, in this legislation, this concept is presumed to be gender-neutral, there is widespread agreement that coercive control is gendered. Using empirical data gathered in one police force area in the South of England, this paper offers an exploration of the feasibility of the extent to which existing risk assessment practices and understandings of risk embedded within them, can incorporate the phenomenon of coercive control. The findings highlight concerns about gender-blind, incident-led (rather than process-led) approaches to assessing risk when these approaches are set against victim/survivor concerns. These concerns highlight the inherent problems embedded in the contemporary gender-blind embrace of the concept of risk as assumed in practices of risk assessment.

The co-occurrence of substance misuse, domestic abuse, and child maltreatment: Can Family Drug and Alcohol Courts play a part?

“…There has been a flurry in legislative changes which intend to protect victim-survivors of DA, including the Domestic Abuse Act (2021) and the criminalization of coercive control (Serious Crime Act, 2015). However, in spite of this emphasis on criminal law and criminal justice interventions ( 81 , 131 ), the prevalence and associated costs of DA remain consistently high. The jury is still out regarding whether legislative changes have helped to keep women and children safe or whether more law is the answer in relation to violence against women and girls more broadly ( 132 ).…”

Defending ‘Co‐offending’ Women: Recognising Domestic Abuse and Coercive Control in ‘Joint Enterprise' Cases Involving Women and their Intimate Partners

“…The Howard Journal of Crime and Justice published by Howard League and John Wiley & Sons Ltd This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. more widely recognised, after having been introduced as an offence in English and Welsh law in Section 76 of the Serious Crime Act 2015 (Barlow and Walklate 2021). In this context, coercive control refers to a pattern of behaviours that aim to 'subordinate' a person or make them 'dependent', for example 'by isolating them from sources of support', as well as 'acts of assault, threats, humiliation and intimidation or other abuse that is used to harm, punish, or frighten their victim' (Home Office 2015, p.4).…”

Domestic violence, coercive control and mental health in a pandemic: disenthralling the ecology of the domestic

“…Such micro-regulation of daily practices often occurs within the private sphere of the home (Morison & Macleod, 2014;Rose et al, 2015;Rose, 2017). Some scholars argue that conditions enabling coercive control, exist within social, cultural, gendered and normative practices of romantic love, marriage and motherhood (Aisyah & Parker, 2014;Barlow & Walklate, 2021;McCallum, 2018;Maher et al, 2020). The home has consistently been found by international bodies and national researchers to be the most dangerous place for women and children (UNODC, 2018;Hill, 2019, p. 7).…”