This presentation addresses the prevalence and severity of family violence, specifically the shadowed practice of coercive control, in the perinatal period. The presentation brings attention to this special population of new parents who are marginalized in their inability to exercise liberty by engaging with services and resources. Coercive control has been a known expression of Violence and Maltreatment for decades and was punctuated and underlined 15 years ago upon the dissemination of Evan Stark's seminal work, "Coercive Control," published in 2007. Awareness has increased within social service and legal circles since, and recent legislation (Kayden's Law, Federal; Greyson's Law, Florida) supports our growing nationwide cognizance of this insidious type of family violence. Information as to coercive Control's effect on perinatal parents is in its formative stages, yet is vital for maternal and infant mental health (and all health professionals) to comprehend to provide comprehensive, informed care to every patient and client.
Family violence can impact all races, ethnicities, genders, and parent constellations. Some minorities, according to national surveys such as the Conflict Tactics Scale, evidence different expressions and levels of violence in various racial and ethnic groups. While socioeconomic status (financial stress) is a risk factor for all expressions of family violence and thus deepens the impact in various racial populations according to how economically stable each group is in a given area, Coercive control is most commonly perpetrated by men against women possessing little power and control. Minority women are common targets of coercive control, especially in a mixed relationship where the perpetrator identifies with the dominant majority. Coercive control is also common in populations of women who are financially dependent on their partners. All of these factors support the argument that Coercive control is a prevalent practice reinforced by structural racism and patriarchal practices.
This presentation benefits this key population by educating perinatal professionals and mental health providers on the hidden, often misunderstood or excused abusive realities of experiencing pregnancy, labor, delivery, postpartum adjustment, and parenthood while in an environment of chronic complex trauma and how this population is special, often layered with cultural, intergenerational, socioeconomic, and racial/ethnic complexities, and must be approached with a heightened and cultivated awareness of what it means to be trauma-informed for patients and clients still experiencing chronic complex trauma. An informed provider can make a world of difference for a new parent and their child(ren) entrapped in coercive control, and they navigate eventual resolution and safety.
