Coercive Control Field Check / THR / THR-1
THR-1
Threats to Harm or Kill the Target
Definition
Explicit or implied statements that the abuser will physically harm or kill the target.
How it operates
Direct threats to kill or harm, statements that the target will "leave in a body bag," threats of serious injury, and conditional threats tied to the target's behavior.
Function
Induce fear and compel compliance by making the cost of resistance appear catastrophic.
Harm
The creation of a climate of terror that restricts the target's agency and elevates the risk of serious or lethal violence.
Why this is coercive control
Ordinary expressions of anger during an argument that lack threats of harm. The conduct here induces fear and compel compliance by making the cost of resistance appear catastrophic.
Constructed example
“If you leave, I'll make sure you don't walk away from this.”
Fictitious. Written to illustrate the behavior. Not a case.
Hovey, Rye, Chambers & Scott 2026; Stark 2007.
Literature this family is drawn from
- Stark, E. (2007). Coercive control: How men entrap women in personal life. Oxford University Press.
- Stark, E., & Hester, M. (2019). Coercive control: Update and review. Violence Against Women, 25(1), 81-104.
- Pence, E., & Paymar, M. (1993). Education groups for men who batter: The Duluth model. Springer.
- Dutton, M. A., & Goodman, L. A. (2005). Coercion in intimate partner violence: Toward a new conceptualization. Sex Roles, 52(11-12), 743-756.
- Monckton Smith, J. (2020). Intimate partner femicide: Using Foucauldian analysis to track an eight stage progression to homicide. Violence Against Women, 26(11), 1267-1285.
© 2026 Carisa Carlton.
Carlton, C. (2026). Coercive Control Field Check: THR-1. Coercive Control Observatory. Last reviewed August 31, 2026.