A few words about
Domestic Abuse and Coercive Control
About
Domestic Abuse - Coercive Control
Domestic abuse, also known as coercive control, abuse, domestic violence, and intimate partner violence (IPV), is a cycle of abuse that can be physical, emotional, psychological, verbal, sexual, financial, and spiritual.
Coercive control, domestic abuse, and IPV comprise a range of behaviors beyond physical abuse. Abusers often use violence, intimidation, degradation, and isolation to deprive victims of their rights to physical security, dignity, and respect. Purposed to intimidate, humiliate, exploit, isolate, control, power over, dominate, and manipulate.
Abuse is about power and control. It is an act or a pattern of acts of assault, threats, humiliation, intimidation, or other abuse that is used to harm, punish, or frighten their victim. Coercive and controlling behavior is at the heart of domestic abuse.
Purpose of Abuse Tactics
- Manipulate
- Intimidate
- Humiliate
- Exploit
- Dominate
- Power over
- Control
- Isolate
Biblical Accounts of Abuse and Coercive Control
The Bible contains several accounts of abuse, ranging from physical violence to emotional manipulation and exploitation. Below are some notable examples:
1. Cain and Abel (Genesis 4:1-16)
The first recorded act of violence in the Bible involves Cain, who kills his brother Abel out of jealousy. Abel’s offering to God is accepted, while Cain’s is not, leading Cain to murder Abel in a fit of rage. This story highlights abuse driven by envy and anger, with God ultimately punishing Cain by cursing him to wander the earth.
2. Hagar and Sarai (Genesis 16)
Sarai (later Sarah), unable to bear children, gives her servant Hagar to her husband Abram (later Abraham) to conceive a child. After Hagar becomes pregnant with Ishmael, tensions rise, and Sarai mistreats her harshly. Hagar flees into the wilderness, where an angel of God comforts her and promises her a future for her son. This is an example of emotional and physical abuse rooted in jealousy and power dynamics.
3. Joseph and His Brothers (Genesis 37)
Joseph’s brothers, jealous of their father Jacob’s favoritism toward him (symbolized by the coat of many colors), abuse him by plotting to kill him. Instead, they sell him into slavery and fake his death to deceive their father. This story showcases familial abuse, betrayal, and exploitation, though Joseph later rises to power and forgives them.
4. The Rape of Dinah (Genesis 34)
Dinah, the daughter of Jacob, is raped by Shechem, a Hivite prince. After the assault, Shechem seeks to marry her, but her brothers Simeon and Levi take revenge by deceiving and slaughtering Shechem’s entire city. This narrative involves sexual abuse and the complex aftermath of vengeance and justice.
5. Tamar and Amnon (2 Samuel 13)
Amnon, a son of King David, becomes obsessed with his half-sister Tamar. He feigns illness to lure her into his room, where he rapes her. Afterward, he rejects her, leaving her desolate. Tamar’s brother Absalom later avenges her by killing Amnon. This is a stark depiction of sexual abuse, manipulation, and the devastating consequences for the victim.
6. The Levite’s Concubine (Judges 19)
Amnon, a son of King David, becomes obsessed with his half-sister Tamar. He feigns illness to lure her into his room, where he rapes her. Afterward, he rejects her, leaving her desolate. Tamar’s brother Absalom later avenges her by killing Amnon. This is a stark depiction of sexual abuse, manipulation, and the devastating consequences for the victim.
7. David and Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11)
King David abuses his power by committing adultery with Bathsheba and orchestrating the death of her husband, Uriah, to cover it up. While Bathsheba’s perspective is not detailed, David’s actions represent a misuse of authority and indirect violence. God sends the prophet Nathan to confront David, and the child born from the affair dies as a consequence.
The first recorded act of violence in the Bible involves Cain, who kills his brother Abel out of jealousy. Abel’s offering to God is accepted, while Cain’s is not, leading Cain to murder Abel in a fit of rage. This story highlights abuse driven by envy and anger, with God ultimately punishing Cain by cursing him to wander the earth.
The first recorded act of violence in the Bible involves Cain, who kills his brother Abel out of jealousy. Abel’s offering to God is accepted, while Cain’s is not, leading Cain to murder Abel in a fit of rage. This story highlights abuse driven by envy and anger, with God ultimately punishing Cain by cursing him to wander the earth.
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All day they twist my words;
All their thoughts are
against me for evil.
They gather together,
They hide, they mark my steps,
When they lie in wait for my life.
Shall they escape by iniquity?
In anger cast down
the peoples, O God!
Psalm 56:5-7 NKJ