Coercive Control

Coercive control and stalking are recognized as key factors in intimate partner violence victimization and lethality but have received more limited research attention compared to physical and sexual assault. Both can also be perpetrated by people other than current or ex-intimate partners including relatives, acquaintances, and strangers. Coercive control and stalking also both have inconsistent definitions and measurements across research studies which can make prevalence estimates and findings inconsistent. A lack of consistent definitions and frameworks makes it more difficult to recognize coercive control leading to victim experiences being minimized, dismissed, and denied. This in turn can lead to poor understanding in the practice world and may increase the risk of lethality for people exposed to coercive control and/or stalking.

This website is devoted to work that can help others interested in understanding and addressing coercive control and stalking. There are a variety of “fact sheets” devoted to the two topics, articles, and tools. In particular the Stalking and Harassment Assessment and Risk Profile (SHARP) tool can be found on this website. This is a dynamic, online assessment regarding stalking behaviors that can help someone identify if stalking is happening to them, key risks or threats, and safety suggestions based on how people answer the assessment questions. Then two reports are provided—one to help individuals exposed to stalking better articulate sound bites or key points of the situation and why they are afraid or emotionally distress and the second report provides safety strategies for consideration. Similarly, a coercive control assessment is in development and will be included on the website when completed.