NCJ Number
228988
Journal
Violence Against Women Volume: 15 Issue: 12 Dated: December 2009 Pages: 1490-1508
Date Published
December 2009
Length
19 pages
Annotation
This article examines the challenge facing the recognition of domestic violence against women as coercive control through narrative (stories and experiences).
Abstract
Stories are persuasive; however, the problem for those who want to use stories to challenge the status quo is that new stories are heard in terms of old ones. The solution is not to give up on stories as persuasive form. Rather, it is to rework old plotlines to new purposes. Neither tragic, mystery, nor quest story lines, which have dominated battered women's storytelling, effectively captures women's experience of coercive control. In lieu of the dominated storytelling, this paper argues for the use of a rebirth storyline. When told in the first person, the author's strong narrative voice conveys an impression of agency and reasonableness, while describing experiences of dependence and dehumanization. Getting domestic violence against women recognized as coercive control requires a major effort of storytelling. This paper draws on an interdisciplinary literature on narrative and persuasion to show why doing this presents a formidable challenge. Drawing on the stories told by battered women as part of a successful reform effort, this article shows how women have used the form effectively. Notes and references