A gallery with many of the Wheels may be found here: Since its inception, the Power and Control Wheel has been released in multiple languages and expanded to be inclusive of diversity factors. Specifically, men who engage in these tactics within an intimate relationship are seeking power and control over their partner. While most intimate partner relationships may endorse the presence of an item or two from the list of behaviors under these 8 tactics, when physical and/or sexual violence takes place in a relationship it changes how these tactics play out. Each of these areas represent different tactics used by a perpetrator of IPV to achieve power and control over their partner, which makes up the innermost circle. The inner portion of the Wheel consists of 8 areas, like the spokes of a wheel. The outer circle of the Wheel represents the physical and sexual violence that occurs within relationships where there is intimate partner violence. Let’s take a moment to review the Wheel itself. Over the course of these interviews, they identified a list of universal, commonly identified abusive and controlling behaviors or tactics used by men who perpetrated IPV and these were placed on the Power and Control Wheel. As they were developing content for the treatments, the staff performed extensive interviews with women who had experienced IPV. They were working on developing two treatment program curriculums, one for men who perpetrate IPV and one for women who are abused within their intimate relationship. The original version of the Power and Control Wheel was developed in 1984 by a group of mental health advocates in Duluth, Minnesota. One tool that I have used for over 25 years in both clinical and teaching endeavors is the Power and Control Wheel. During the course of my study, I learned a great deal about different models and tools related to IPV. These same concerns and insights are relevant to examining IPV in the context of a worldwide pandemic. Further, the signs of abuse themselves may also present differently. A key takeaway from my study was that women with physical disabilities who experience IPV face a number of additional barriers to seeking help, and getting appropriate immediate and long-term assistance.
This type of violence can occur among heterosexual or same-sex couples and does not require sexual intimacy.” The focus of my doctoral dissertation was on IPV of women with physical disabilities and this blog will examine the dynamics present when men perpetrate intimate partner violence toward their female partners during a pandemic.
According to the CDC (2021), intimate partner violence is defined as “physical violence, sexual violence, stalking, or psychological harm by a current or former partner or spouse. Many of these wheels can be found at the National Center for Domestic and Sexual Violence.Repeatedly on the news and in academic journals, I’ve been seeing reports about and concerns regarding rates of intimate partner violence (IPV) as our world is dealing with the continued effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Advocates have also used the concept of the wheel in dozens other contexts - ranging from an elder abuse wheel to a teen equality wheel. According to DAIP, the wheel has been translated into about 40 languages. Since the early 80s, the wheel has spread around the world. Both Pence and Paymar have been interviewed for the film - excerpts and transcripts of the interviews are on this site. They also created the Domestic Abuse Intervention Project, which continues to operate local domestic violence programs and an international training program. Ellen Pence, Michael Paymar and Coral McDonald created the wheel after meeting extensively with battered women’s groups in Duluth and credited the women’s input as being the sole basis for the concept. The power and control wheel was developed in the early 1980s in Duluth, MN, an early center of innovation for the battered women’s movement.