Academic and Religious Contexts: Understanding Coercive Control in Institutional Settings (Session 3)

Academic and Religious Contexts: Understanding Coercive Control in Institutional Settings (Session 3)

This session explores how coercive control manifests in institutional settings including academia and religious communities, contexts where power dynamics and authority structures can enable and perpetuate abuse. Melissa Kwon and Liat Wexler present groundbreaking research on academic coercive control, examining how controlling behaviors manifest in higher education settings among students, faculty, and staff. They discuss the unique challenges of identifying and addressing coercive control in academic environments where power imbalances are often normalized and institutional structures may protect perpetrators. Michael Broyde explores the complexities of Jewish divorce and coercive control, examining five critical issues that arise when religious law intersects with coercive dynamics in intimate relationships. His presentation illuminates how religious institutions and practices can be weaponized as tools of control, while also discussing how faith communities can better support survivors and hold perpetrators accountable. Together, these presentations reveal how coercive control operates beyond intimate relationships, permeating institutional contexts where responses must account for unique power structures, cultural considerations, and the intersection of religious or academic authority with intimate partner violence.