Is it coercive control? / SEXC / SEXC-1

SEXC-1

Pressure, guilt, and entitlement claims regarding sex

Definition

Framing sex as owed, obligatory, or a test of love or loyalty; persistent pressure after refusal; guilt campaigns that convert the target's bodily autonomy into a relational debt.

How it operates

Statements that sex constitutes a wifely or partner duty. Repeated requests after clear refusal. Linking affection, financial support, or relationship stability to sexual compliance. Pressure to engage in specific acts the target has declined.

Function

Erodes the target's right to refuse by making non-compliance feel like moral failure, selfishness, or relationship sabotage.

Harm

Reaches beyond the sexual act into the target's sense of self-worth, bodily integrity, and spiritual ownership of her own person.

Why this is coercive control

Mutual negotiation of sexual preferences conducted without threat, guilt, pressure, or entitlement framing; one-time expressions of desire that respect a refusal. The conduct here erodes the target's right to refuse by making non-compliance feel like moral failure, selfishness, or relationship sabotage.

Constructed example

A wife who loved her husband wouldn't keep score like this. After everything I do for you, this is the least you can give.

Fictitious. Written to illustrate the behavior. Not a case.

Bagwell-Gray 2021; Stark 2007.

Literature this family is drawn from

  • Stark, E. (2007). Coercive control: How men entrap women in personal life. Oxford University Press.

Literature map

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.

How to cite

Carlton, C. (2026). Is it coercive control?: SEXC-1. Carlton Research Instruments. /codebook/sexc-1. Last reviewed August 31, 2026.