In the summer of 2020, this writer wrote a factum for the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal addressing coercive control in child custody cases. The purpose was to explain how coercive control works in cases, and through institutions, involved in child abuse and domestic violence, also known as Intimate Partner Violence. By November 2021, the federal Government of Canada announced their focus on the issue of coercive control in family and divorce law, making amendments to family laws involving intimate partner violence.
Coercive control is used by abusers in high conflict divorce proceedings involving child custody. The central tool used in coercive control by an abuser is the incorporation of the legal system as a punishment for a victim successfully escaping the violence. Coercive control includes the abuser networking to achieve the effectiveness of both informal and formal control of his target who is forced to become a victim of the system as punishment for leaving the abuse. This is achieved and reinforced by the abuser aligning with professionals in the legal arena, and other agencies, who support the abuser maintaining their power position, even when they admit to abuse.
Motives for coercive control are based on gender inequalities and misogyny, which is a contempt, hatred and prejudice against women and girls. The hatred and prejudice against women is aimed at powerful women to create an example – unless they are aligned with the dominant abusive culture’s values, which they are then rewarded for. The legal professionals in various areas in the existing system are either manipulated by the abuser or willingly align with the motives and cultural beliefs embraced by the abuser to maintain power over his victims.
Coercive control involves a sense of entitlement in the abuser, which is not based on an earned merit. They select their targets to become their victims due to the positive traits and accomplishments of the targeted individual, which includes the obvious potential in the person that is yet to be realized. The targeted individual is selected because they embody everything the abuser wishes he could be, but isn’t.
The very existence of the targeted person is a threat to the abuser’s illusion about their superior values, social standing, intellect and foundational cultural beliefs. As a result, the abuser will recreate narratives to project his negative traits onto his victim while falsely presenting himself as having the positive traits of his victim. He will also manufacture crisis to appear as the victim during periods where he is in gross violation of the victim’s fundamental Human and Constitutional rights, as well as in violation of Canadian laws. This involves filing false police reports and sworn affidavits to the court.
Thus, an abuser is attempting to maintain a feeling of superiority while projecting an inferior and flawed illusion on the targeted victim. For instance, when the target is an excellent parent, the abuser will lie and adopt her traits as his own to replace his incompetence. When he is abusive, he will switch the narrative to appear as if he is the victim and not the perpetrator.
The incorporation of systemic bias in the practice of coercive control ensures an imbalance of power is maintained and enforced. This is accomplished through a legal domination of legal representatives in support of the abusers’ cultural values, regardless of the evidence. The extent of the bias involved in such court proceedings supporting coercive control also depends on the demographic, as a culture embraces certain ideologies of acceptable conduct.
Cultural values guide a person’s moral compass. When gross and blatantly apparent injustices and bias are evident from the legal arena, the individuals partaking in the coercive control orchestrated by an abuser are not victims of manipulation. Instead, they are fellow perpetrators of the crimes the abuser commits while they shield him from consequences due to the network of individuals enabling the abuse, both personal and professional. As a result, abusers also use individuals within the legal system as human weapons while being in control of them through either manipulation or allegiance to the cause.
Laws are set in place. However, the new laws may be fully ignored due to cultural beliefs and the active participation of people within the system abiding by the agenda of the abuser to implement coercive control. This includes police, lawyers, judges, court clerks, social workers and members within the healthcare fields. The process is initiated and controlled by the abuser who begins the legal process and feels superior when he is able to control the legal arena to abide by his agenda. This is due to his thrill to manipulation and control the powerful legal arena or through the rush of aligning with professionals who share his cultural views and motives.
The changes to laws often exist to enforce human rights and Constitutional rights in Canada. These rights shake the foundation of an abuser’s very core, which extends to those participating in the coercive control. With coercive control, there is a great imbalance where the abuser has extensive rights and privileges supported by a controlling legal system, but the same rights are not given to their targeted victims who are dehumanized. Bias is evident. Laws seek to balance equality.
In this way, much like abusers smear their victims’ reputations publicly, they also smear the trust in the legal entities and those who represent the law in the eyes of the public. Coercive control breeds mistrust like rabid rabbits hopping around invading everyone’s den.
To be effective, coercive control requires the willing participation of others, including in the legal system. Without the active participation of individuals within the legal arenas, coercive control would not exist to the degree it does in the current family court social climate throughout pockets of North America. The fact that coercive control exists demonstrates the cultural acceptance of gross violations to Human and Constitutional rights occurring and creating generational harm in Saskatchewan.
It is important to note that the individuals who choose to participate in coercive control, which extends beyond the family violence, are expected to be well educated individuals. Due to aligning with the abusive oppressor, or being manipulated by an abuser, to willingly participate in coercive control does require mental wellness checks on professionals within the legal fields. They are humans like everyone else and require mental therapy without stigmatization for seeking mental wellness supports, which is an equal right for all citizens along with confidentiality.
It is all about inequality with coercive control, which leads to oppression. The four “I’s” are next week’s topic as they apply to oppression.
Every Friday, Sheila Wanite Bautz addresses various Sociological issues in laymen’s terms. Sheila has dual Honour BAs with Majors in Sociology and English through the University of Saskatchewan. In Sociology, she specialized in Indigenous history, law, addictions and criminology.
