Origin of the Concept of Coercive Control 

Sociologist Evan Stark introduced the concept of coercive control, a key development in understanding conjugal violence. His association with the movement to end conjugal violence from the mid-1970s onwards has significantly shaped our comprehension of this issue.  

In 2007, he published Coercive Control: How Men Entrap Women in Personal Life. In it, he proposed a different view on conjugal violence, one that sees it as a crime of deprivation of freedom.

With the concept of coercive control, he not only highlighted what abusive partners do to their victims but also how they progressively deprive them of their freedom—to go out without asking permission, see friends, express their opinions, wear what they want, etc.  

The concept focuses on women’s safety, freedom, autonomy, dignity, and equality with men.

Since then, several analogies have been used in the literature that describe the mechanisms used in a controlling and coercive relationship. Some compare it to a hostage-taking or kidnapping. Others speak of a trap that closes in on the victim, a cage or an "invisible leash."  

Women’s shelters have shared this vision and analysis for a very long time, even if they didn't use the term "coercive control."

In Canada, researchers Carmen Gill and Isabelle Côté and researcher Simon Lapierre have been influential in popularizing and adopting this concept by those involved in the fight against conjugal violence. The West Island Women’s Shelter, a Montreal shelter, has also pioneered the development of intervention tools based on coercive control. 

Starting in 2019, the Regroupement des maisons pour femmes victimes de violence conjugale began offering member shelters a series of conferences, workshops, and tools to help their teams understand the concept of coercive control. The symposium held for the Regroupement’s 40th anniversary in 2019 marked a pivotal moment for member shelters in adopting this concept. It has trained over 6,000 professionals on this issue in less than three years. In response to growing interest, we created this website as a reference tool to promote the concept of coercive control and support its adoption by all those working with victims of conjugal violence.

The international movement to criminalize coercive control has also brought this concept to the forefront. To learn more about countries that have passed legislation in this area and the situation in Canada, consult the Criminalizing Coercive Control information sheet.