The Power and Control Wheel explains some of the common tactics used by abusers. Battering is one form of domestic or intimate partner violence, characterized by the pattern of actions that an individual uses to intentionally control or dominate his intimate partner. That is why the words “power and control” are in the center of the wheel. A batterer systematically uses threats, intimidation, and coercion to instill fear in his partner. These behaviors are the spokes of the wheel. Physical and sexual violence holds it all together—this violence is the rim of the wheel.
The Power and Control Wheel, as well as the Equality Wheel, the Culture Wheel, and more, can be downloaded in multiple languages from Domestic Abuse Intervention Programs in Duluth.