Coercive control is defined as the pattern of manipulative and controlling behaviors that augment or are often used in place of physical violence to terrorize one’s partner. These behaviors are often difficult to identify and recognize, especially when we try to assess one’s risk for escalating and/or life-threatening violence. Moving beyond providing definitions of coercive control, this webinar will focus on the seemingly innocuous behaviors that, when they co-occur as part of broader patterns put victims at higher risk for extreme violence. In addition to becoming familiar with coercive control, participants will practice techniques for asking questions in order to guide victim/survivors and petitioners in establishing a narrative of coercive control that is legible to law enforcement and criminal legal system actors.

Presenter:

Angela Hattery, PhD. is Professor of Women & Gender Studies and co-Director of the Center for the Study & Prevention of Gender-Based Violence at the University of Delaware. She is the author of 13 books, including Intimate Partner Violence (2008), Gender, Power and Violence: Responding to Sexual and Intimate Partner Violence in Society Today (2019), Theories of Family Violence (2026), and The Social Dynamics of Family Violence, 4th Edition (2026).