(Developed by Domestic Abuse Intervention Project, Duluth, MN)

The Power & Control wheel is helpful in understanding the overall pattern of abusive and violent behaviors, which are used by an abuser to establish and maintain control over his/her partner or any other victim in the household. Physical and sexual assaults, or threats to commit them, are the most apparent forms of domestic abuse and violence. These may be accompanied by an array of these other types of abuse which are less easily identified, yet firmly establish a pattern of intimidation and control in the relationship.