Power and Control Wheel

Power and Control

Physical Violence Sexual

Using coercion and threats

• making and/or carrying out threats to do something to hurt her
• threatening to leave her, to commit suicide, to report her to welfare
• making her drop charges
• making her do illegal things

Using Intimidation

• making her afraid by using looks, actions, gestures
• smashing things
• destroying her property
• abusing pets
• displaying weapons

Using emotional abuse

• putting her down
• making her feel bad about herself
• calling her names
• making her think she’s crazy
• playing mind games
• humiliating her
• making her feel guilty

Using isolation

• controlling what she does. who she sees and talks to, what she reads, where she goes
• limiting her outside involvement
• using jealousy to justify actions

Minimizing, denying and blaming

• making light of the abuse and not taking her concerns about it seriously
• saying the abuse didn’t happen
• shifting responsibility for abusive behaviour
• saying she caused it.

Using children

• making her fell guilty about children
• using the children to relay messages
• using visitation to harass her
• threatening to take the children away

Using male privilege

• treating her like a servant
• making all the big decisions
• acting like the “master of the castle”
• being the one to define men’s and women’s roles

Using economic abuse

• preventing her from getting or keeping a job
• making her ask for money
• giving her an allowance
• taking her money
• not letting her know about or have access to family income