International Coercive Control Conference–First All Survivor-Founded and Led Conference to Address Gender-Based Violence Globally

NEW YORK, NY, October 11, 2022–If you’re still looking for activities and organizations to support in recognition of Domestic Violence Awareness Month in October, there is still time to register and join the global conversation happening at the International Coercive Control Conference.??

This year’s theme–Coercive Control: Oppression in Our Public and Private Spheres–brings together the ways in which sex and gender and societal attitudes and its institutional responses to abuse and oppression, together impact and reinforce degrees of women’s safety, autonomy, and ability to seek accountability for the harm they experience–most often, gendered, and at the hands of men.

What sets this event apart from others in the space is its make-up of all survivors leading the conference strategy, planning, and execution.? Many of the organizers are protective mothers, whose individual experiences of coercive control have informed their journeys and education about the gendered nature of abuse.

Gabby Petito, Keaira Hudson, and Karina Castro.? These names are only the most recent cases in the news who share the horrible fate of having been killed by men–Gabby, murdered by her fiancee Brian Laundrie during a cross-country roadtrip; Keaira, shot by her ex-partner in front of her 3 children, after months of begging police to protect her; and Karina, beheaded in broad daylight on a California street by the father of her child. If you read beyond the headlines into the nuances of their relationships and their perpetrator’s backgrounds, you will often find blatant examples of coercive control that was dismissed, minimized, or unrecognized due to blinding biases against women and how victims behave, especially when traumatized.

ICCC sessions on “Women are Not Believed: The Credibility Deficit,” “The Insidious Nature of Coercive Control,” “The Psychology of Coercive Control,” and “Coercive Control and the Law” all provide a much needed starting point for better understanding the how, why, and what we can do to end violence against women and identify its most reliable predictor–coercive control.? The conference hopes to ignite a global response from providers, law enforcement, researchers, and advocates that pushes us to be more unified in our definitions of the problems and coordinated in our approach, so that we may see true improvements and better protections for women and their children.?

For a complete list of speakers and sessions and to register for the conference, visit:? https://theccc.international.

About The International Coercive Control Conference

The conference is a first step towards bringing together those working on the front lines advocating for change, modernizing legislation, conducting cutting-edge research, and changing the narrative to make visible the patriarchal nature of abuse and coercive control.??

About the Engendered Collective

The Engendered Collective is a community of survivors, advocates, and feminists that engage in knowledge-building, collective care, healing, and advocacy to increase accountability for sex-based abuse, exploitation, and violence.