Coercive Control and Social Entrapment - series

Coercive control and social entrapment continue to be key issues in our sector that we need to practice and engage with in order to enhance safety and accountability. Coercive control and social entrapment are critical concepts that when translated into practice allow us to challenge perpetrators systematic tactics of isolation, fear and coercion; the limitations of our service systems; and support victims/survivors. The concepts of coercive control and social entrapment provide an in-depth understanding of the complex dynamics that allows perpetrators to establish and maintain control over their partner or their ex-partner.

The workshops in this series:

Coercive Control and Social Entrapment – Working with Practice Realities 

Understanding the concepts of coercive control and social entrapment is critical as practitioners-in-systems. The power of these concepts, when understood and collectively responded to across sectors, challenges and compels us to shift the burden of responsibility from victims/survivors to holding perpetrators and systems accountable. Translating these concepts into practice is key to managing and monitoring risk; responding to the tactics of intimate partner violence; the limitations of safety responses in our current systems; and how structural oppressions reinforce entrapment conditions. 

Coercive Control and Substance Use - Making sense within the context of social entrapment

This workshop aims to explore the links between alcohol and other drugs (AOD) and coercive control. It is important to explore considerations for women subjected to substance use coercive control and tactics used by perpetrators, and the ways in which as systems advocates we can collude with this if we don’t consider the entrapments for victims/survivors. If we hold a social entrapment framework, we can purposefully engage in practices that responds to the realities of peoples’ lives - working with substance use coercion and entrapment in the everyday.

Resistive Violence – Responding to domination in the lives of victims/survivors 

Victims/Survivors are always active in their resistance to perpetrators’ use of tactics of coercive control, abuse and violence. As workers, we need to be able to analyse the ways that power and control is being used by perpetrators and how we further entrap victims/survivors in our systems responses. We will unpack the resistive strategies of victims/survivors as a response and form of survival to perpetrators’ use of coercive tactics, and bring forward victims/survivors agency when living in a context of entrapment and oppression. 

Collusion – Increasing Accountability Practices for Family Violence Teams & Systems 

Collusion is complex and nuanced and in perpetrator work it comes in many forms.  This workshop will explore collusion beyond our direct responses to men who are violent to women. We will look at collusive messages and practices that occur at structural, organisational, relational, and individual levels.   As family violence programs our practices of respect and equality are critical for challenging oppression and gender power relations. Further, it creates a foundation for engaging in critical thinking and dialogue with perpetrators so that entitled belief systems that devalue women are challenged.