ABSTRACT
This chapter introduces cases, through the lens of the intimate partner violence (IPV) victims’ petition for injunction narratives, that help to exemplify the first two non-violent themes of coercive control derived from the data collected as part of this study, i.e., intimidation and isolation, as well as their subthemes. Through the stories told, the non-violent tactics of coercive control begin to emerge, exposing the complexity of intimidation's use of harassment, surveillance, and threat techniques to establish control over the IPV victim. The abuser's use of animal abuse, financial control, and threats against friends and family works to further intimidate and isolate the victim. An explanation of the abuser's use of weapons provides insight into the type of weapons that the IPV victim stated were utilized against them. The narratives help to explain how economic control and false imprisonment allow isolation to take hold of the IPV victim, preventing them from being able to access resources for any type of assistance for or escape from the abuse.
