SpeakOutLoud header image
Learn About Coercive Control and Psychological Abuse

Male perpetrators

Are you struggling to come to terms with your partner’s abusive behaviours?

– Posted in: Male perpetrators SAFETY of Women & Children Why does he do it

Do you wonder: “Is he doing this to me on purpose? And if he is knowingly being cruel, neglectful and controlling, then I find that too hard to take, that he would be so calculated in his nastiness to me. I’ve not done anything to create that.” Do you wish: “I’d rather he did not know what

Jekyll and Hyde: Will the ‘real abuser’ please stand up

– Posted in: Male perpetrators Warning signs of abuse Why does he do it

Most women who come to me for counselling are often confused and exasperated by their male partner’s flip flopping between ‘good guy’ and ‘bad guy’. Pauline said her husband Chris, “would be so lovely and charming to other people and so shit horrible to me.” Peter, a man who’d attended a stopping violence programme told

Tactic #16 — Physical Violence: How to understand Men’s Motivations

– Posted in: Intimate partner abuse Male perpetrators Physical violence Why does he do it

This is the sixteenth of 16 blogs discussing the patterns of tactics from my power and control wheel — Physical Violence. This blog focuses on men's motivations for using coercively controlling physical violence against female partners. A man interviewed by Jeff Hearn(12) said: “I don’t let it lie, because I always want to have the

Tactic #15 — How Men Coerce Women into Domestic Slavery and why Equality is the Answer

– Posted in: Gender socialisation Intimate partner abuse Male perpetrators Why does he do it

This is the fifteenth of 16 blogs discussing the patterns of tactics from my power and control wheel — Domestic Slavery. Amongst heterosexual couples, many people believe the man should be the breadwinner (although being the sole breadwinner is really only possible for wealthy families). Alongside this, many people believe the woman should stay at

Tactic #14 — Symbolic Aggression

– Posted in: Intimate partner abuse Male perpetrators SAFETY of Women & Children Why does he do it

This is the fourteenth of 16 blogs discussing the patterns of tactics from my power and control wheel — Symbolic Aggression. Drawing from research with men who have used symbolic aggression, and women who have been subjected to it, this blog illustrates just some of the tactics — these include the ways the perpetrator uses

Tactic #13 — Intimate Partner Sexual abuse

– Posted in: Intimate partner abuse Male perpetrators Sexual Abuse Why does he do it

This is the thirteenth of 16 blogs discussing the patterns of tactics from my power and control wheel — Intimate Partner Sexual Abuse. Men’s intimate partner sexual abuse involves expecting or demanding sex when she doesn’t desire it, then ignoring her wishes, ignoring her protests, telling her that ‘no’ really means ‘yes’. Sexual abuse entails

Children’s exposure to intimate partner abuse

– Posted in: Children's exposure to abuse Male perpetrators

I recently co-wrote two issues papers that address children's exposure to intimate partner abuse. They're available here. The first paper is titled Understanding connections and relationships: Child maltreatment, intimate partner violence and parenting and it explores: The links between child maltreatment and intimate partner violence The detrimental effects of children’s exposure to intimate partner violence The

Tactic #11 — Using the Children

– Posted in: Children's exposure to abuse Intimate partner abuse Male perpetrators Why does he do it

This is the eleventh of 16 blogs discussing the patterns of tactics from my power and control wheel — Using the Children.Ways men use the children to maintain power and control or to punish their partner or ex-partner include demanding that she do all the childcare, making her feel guilty about the children, telling her

Tactic #10 — Denial, Minimising, Blaming

– Posted in: Intimate partner abuse Male perpetrators Why does he do it

This is the tenth of 16 blogs discussing the patterns of tactics from my power and control wheel — Denial, Minimising, Blaming. We are all responsible for the choices we make in life. We’re personally responsible for our own thoughts, beliefs, assumptions and interpretations of situations. Our thoughts lead to our feelings and in turn

Tactic #9 — Using Social Institutions and Social Prejudices

– Posted in: Intimate partner abuse Male perpetrators Social Institutions & Abuse Why does he do it

This is the ninth of 16 blogs discussing the patterns of tactics from my power and control wheel – Using Social Institutions and Social Prejudices. Many perpetrators of psychological abuse use social, health, legal and other institutions such as child protection services as arenas to further their coercive control over their intimate partner. They use

Tactic #7 — Degradation & Suppression of Potential

– Posted in: Fear and shame Intimate partner abuse Male perpetrators Why does he do it

This is the seventh of 16 blogs discussing the patterns of tactics from my power and control wheel – Degradation & Suppression of Potential. Men who degrade their female partner do this by calling her derogatory names like slut or whore, using abusive language, correcting things the woman says or does, by depriving her of

Tactic #6 — Emotional Unkindness & Violation of Trust

– Posted in: Fear and shame Intimate partner abuse Male perpetrators Why does he do it

This is the sixth of 16 blogs discussing the patterns of tactics from my power and control wheel – Emotional unkindness & violation of trust. Emotional unkindness entails DOING something unkind and the ABSENCE of, or FAILURE to do something kind. Emotional unkindness is a failure to provide for emotional needs such as encouragement, understanding,

Tactic #5 — Over-Protection and ‘Caring’

– Posted in: Intimate partner abuse Male perpetrators Why does he do it

This is the fifth of 16 blogs discussing the patterns of tactics from my power and control wheel – Over-protection and ‘caring’. Many men who psychologically abuse and control their female partners do not define their behaviour as cruel or abusive. This is partly because their behaviours make perfect sense when viewed from their belief