Power and Control
* For ease of written conversation, the batterer will be referred
to as He and the victim as She. This is not to acknowledge that the genders may be
reversed and the batterer may be a woman and the victim a male.
Whether physically, sexually, or psychologically, the batterer may choose to use
coercion and force to control the victim. (See the Power and Control wheel and the
Equality wheel [DAIP, Duluth, MI] in the appendix.) He* makes this choose
for several reasons.
- He thinks it is his right, that is, part of his role
- He feels entitled to use force
- He has learned this behavior in his past
- This behavior works
Battering is not the result of a batterer's being out of control but rather is the
attempt of the batterer to stay in control.
In this regard, his behavior is under his control. He chooses when and where he
batters. He chooses what parts of the victim's body he hits so as to hide the evidence
from others. He chooses to direct his violence only towards the victim or those
whom he
pereceives may be helping her. His need to control family members seems to increase with
stress in his life.
