Is it coercive control? / ECO / ECO-3
ECO-3
Employment and education sabotage
Definition
Interfering with the target's ability to obtain, maintain, or benefit from work or education.
How it operates
Preventing the target from working or studying. Harassing the target at work or school. Controlling transport or childcare so employment becomes impossible. Causing job loss through repeated interference. Undermining educational progress.
Function
Block independent income and credentials that could support exit or autonomy.
Harm
Lost earnings, interrupted education or training, damaged professional reputation, and increased dependence.
Why this is coercive control
Ordinary discussion of work or school schedules without interference or punishment. The conduct here blocks independent income and credentials that could support exit or autonomy.
Constructed example
“You only went back to college so you can meet more men. You don't need more money. I provide enough.”
Fictitious. Written to illustrate the behavior. Not a case.
Hess & Del Rosario 2018; Pence & Paymar 1993; Stark 2007.
Literature this family is drawn from
- Stark, E. (2007). Coercive control: How men entrap women in personal life. Oxford University Press.
- Pence, E., & Paymar, M. (1993). Education groups for men who batter: The Duluth model. Springer.
- Conn. Gen. Stat. § 46b-1(b) (Jennifer’s Law, 2021).
Identifying a behavior described here does not establish a pattern of behavior and does not establish coercive control. A tactic is not a regime. The instrument consolidates peer-reviewed literature so a reader can check when in doubt. The instrument is not a coding manual. Carlton Research does not provide the instrument as a weapon.
© 2026 Carisa Carlton.
Carlton, C. (2026). Is it coercive control?: ECO-3. Carlton Research Instruments. /codebook/eco-3. Last reviewed August 31, 2026.