
Coercive Control
How Men Entrap Women in Personal Life
Stark(Author)
Oxford University Press Inc
Published on 26. March 2009
Book
Paperback/Softback
464 pages
978-0-19-538404-8 (ISBN)
Description
The battle against domestic violence has focused primarily on incidents of extreme physical abuse and the resulting trauma to the victim. While there is a growing understanding of some forms of psychological abuse, such as stalking, there is less understanding of the pattern of abuse where physical attacks are combined with isolation, intimidation, and control. Stark argues that coercive control, which may not include any physical abuse, is actually the more prevalent and devastating form of domestic abuse, yet remains largely invisible to the helping professionals and has no legal standing. He contends that interventions are ineffective for a large number of battered women due to the gap between what these women experience and the singular emphasis on male violence and victim trauma. Drawing extensively on case studies, Stark identifies the problems with our current approach to domestic violence, outlines the components of coercive control, and then uses this alternate framework to analyse the cases of battered women charged with criminal offenses directed at their abusers. He presents the controversial notion that coercive control should be a legal defense for women who attack or kill their abusers.
Reviews / Votes
This is a hopeful book...[it] is unique in the comprehensiveness of the critique, and in the depth and utility of [the author's] recommendations for a direction for the future...it is sure to have a major impact. * Sex Roles *More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
2 line illustrations
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 156 mm
Thickness: 25 mm
Weight
702 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-19-538404-8 (9780195384048)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
03/2009
1st Edition
OUP eBook
€16.99
Available for download

E-Book
04/2007
1st Edition
OUP eBook
€16.99
Available for download
Person
Evan Stark is an award-winning researcher and has served as an expert in over l00 cases involving battered women and their children. He teaches at the Rutgers School of Public Affairs and Administration and Chairs the Department of Urban Health Administration at the UMDNJ School of Public Health. With Dr. Anne Flitcraft he is the coauthor of Women at Risk: Domestic Violence and Women's Health. He lives in Woodbridge, Connecticutt.
Content
Introduction ; I. THE DOMESTIC VIOLENCE REVOLUTION: PROMISE AND DISAPPOINTMENT ; 1. The Revolution Unfolds ; 2. The Revolution Stalled ; II. ENIGMAS OF ABUSE ; 3. The Proper Measure of Abuse ; 4. The Entrapment Enigma ; 5. Re-presenting Battered Women ; III. FROM DOMESTIC VIOLENCE TO COERCIVE CONTROL ; 6. Up to Inequality ; 7. The Theory of Coercive Control ; 8. The Technology of Coercive Control ; IV. LIVING WITH COERCIVE CONTROL ; 9. When Battered Women Kill ; 10. For Love or Money ; 11. The Reasonableness of Battered Women ; Conclusion: Freedom is Not Free