Power and Control Wheel
Physical and sexual assaults, or threats to commit them, are the most visible forms of domestic violence and are often what alert others that a problem exists.
​
However, an abuser’s ongoing use of other controlling or degrading behaviors, reinforced by occasional acts of physical violence, creates a broader pattern of abuse.
​
Even when physical assaults happen only once or infrequently, they instill fear of future violence and enable the abuser to exert power and control over the victim’s life and circumstances.
The Power and Control diagram is a particularly helpful tool in understanding the overall pattern of abusive and violent behaviors, which are used by a batterer to establish and maintain control over their partner. Very often, one or more violent incidents are accompanied by an array of these other types of abuse. They are less easily identified, yet firmly establish a pattern of intimidation and control in the relationship.
