Biderman’s Chart of Coercion Applied to Domestic Violence
In 1957, sociologist Albert Biderman described the tactics torturers use to weaken and terrify prisoners of war. Ann Jones, Susan Schechter and Evan Stark transferred these ideas to the field of domestic violence. They called this strategy coercive control. Coercive control isn’t a single act. It’s a broad web of tactics woven to dominate an intimate partner. Abusers use coercive control to strip targets of their resources such as friends, family, money, and their health. Coercive control can show up as isolation that shrinks a survivor’s world, degradation that erodes their sense of self or relentless micromanagement that turns daily life into a minefield. It may include manipulation, monitoring, physical or sexual violence, threats, financial abuse and calculated punishments. But coercive control does not have to include all of these to be effective. Abusers often control their targets without ever hitting them. Abusers usually continue coercively controlling their exes after separation through some combination of financial abuse, litigation abuse, and custody battles. For survivors, naming this pattern can be clarifying, even liberating. It helps make …
