The diversity of women's experiences navigating coercive control: voices from the United States and Hong Kong

Abstract

This keynote session begins with an overview of the changes in criminal justice policies that have resulted in increased arrests of women who have used force against their partners/ex-partners. With this framework, the presenters will share their ongoing evidence-based research regarding women's responses to intimate partner violence and/or coercive control. The centerpiece of this work is a schematic approach to categorize the diversity of more than 200 women's motivations for their use of force. Through the lens of cultural competency, presenters will discuss intervention and practice issues with experiential data from the Midwestern U.S., the Eastern seaboard, and Hong Kong, China. Recommendations will be made for effective practice and contextualized research which highlights the gendered nuances of violence perpetration.