Coercive Control & Sexual Exploitation (Panel Part 1/2)
Carrie McManus, Andrea Silverstone, Rod Dubrow-Marshall, Linda Dubrow-Marshall
ICSA Annual Conference
Friday, June 24th
11:00 AM-11:50 AM (Panel Part 1) 12:00 pm-12:50 PM (Panel Part 2)
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The language and understanding of coercive control has begun to shift how we view and understand experiences of domestic abuse, deepening our capacity to understand the long term impacts of this crime often perpetrated against women and girls. Little research however, has been done into the intersections of coercive control and sexual exploitation/trafficking. This presentation will provide an overview of a research project completed by Sagesse in partnership with the University of Salford exploring how coercive control and experiences of sexual exploitation link together to impact victims of crime. This project explored the impacts of sexual exploitation within practice, policy and legislation in multiple jurisdictions including Canada, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia and the Netherlands. This presentation will provide an overview of the linkages between practice, policy, legislation and personal lived experience of sexual exploitation and coercive control. Pulling from experiences of Sagesse participants, the presentation will review the push and pull factors related to individuals engagement in sex work/exploitation. We will discuss the themes from participants connecting their experiences to coercive control and the experience of the loss of personal agency and the implications of that loss on their emotional and physical liberty. Superordinate themes that were also identified and will be discussed in this presentation included the journey of sex work, wellbeing, coercive control, interventions and services, protection, and enforcement, and lastly, the intersections of COVID 19 and sex work. Recommendations for practice and policy with a lens for understanding coercive control and its impact on sex work and sexual exploitation. This presentation will include a discussion to understand how to implement suggested adjustments, practice necessities and create more space for survivor voices within prevention, prosecution and protection components of this complex issue.
Carrie McManus
Director of Innovation and Programs
Sagesse Domestic Violence Prevention Society
Carrie McManus breaks down barriers and embraces change as the Director of Innovation and Programs at Sagesse. Her natural curiosity and passion for eradicating domestic violence allow her to ask “what if” when developing initiatives that change long-standing beliefs and empower individuals, organizations and communities to disrupt the structure of domestic violence. Through Carrie’s leadership, Sagesse has grown beyond its grassroots foundation. She has supported the development of new programs and initiatives that take a closer look at the unique needs of rural and remote survivors of domestic violence and build the capacity of friends and family to recognize and respond to individuals experiencing domestic violence in their communities. In addition to creating programs to meet diverse needs, Carrie has created a contemporary way of thinking about revolutionizing the way Sagesse and other organizations approach program design, which has helped secure Sagesse as a well-respected domestic violence agency across Alberta and around the world. Her innovative approach to service delivery, especially when tackling a difficult topic such as domestic violence, has caught the attention of individuals and organizations beyond Alberta’s borders. She continuously advocates for research, development, and innovation in the non-profit sector, and works closely with organizations in a variety of industries to use Sagesse’s organizational design ideas to uncover growth opportunities, shift paradigms and establish new ways of working. With this work in mind, Carrie spearheaded the creation of ByDesign, a social enterprise dedicated to stimulating real change by challenging the status-quo and breaking down the barriers to allow organizations in any sector to reach their full potential by shifting their thinking to an innovation-based model. Carrie has over 20 years experience in strategic and program development, small business management, facilitation and education. She started her social work career with Mount Royal University’s Stepping Up program, a peer led domestic violence program in Calgary, Carrie then transitioned into her role with Sagesse. She holds a Bachelor of Arts from Dalhousie University in Halifax and a Diploma of Social Work from Mount Royal University in Calgary.
Andrea Silverstone
Chief Executive Officer
Sagesse Domestic Violence Prevention Society
As the CEO of Sagesse, an organization committed to empowering individuals, organizations and communities to disrupt structures of abuse, Andrea Silverstone works tirelessly to address domestic and sexual abuse across Alberta, Canada. Andrea is a Registered Social Worker and Mediator with a background in Judaic/Talmudic Law, having attended Lindenbaum College in Jerusalem and York University in Toronto. She is currently completing a Masters in the psychology of coercive control from the University of Salford in England. She has combined this educational background with a desire to stop abuse before it begins to create program models and structural policy that elevates untold experiences of abuse. Her work has made large impacts in Alberta including implementing a primary prevention initiative to address domestic and sexual abuse across Alberta, playing an instrumental role in supporting the Alberta Government to bring the Domestic Violence Disclosure Act to Alberta, and testifying before the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights about the need for changes to the criminal code to include coercive control.
Rod Dubrow-Marshall
Program Leader Masters in Psychology of Coercive Control
University of Salford
Rod Dubrow-Marshall, PhD, MBPsS, is a Professor of Psychology and is a Programme Leader (MSc Psychology of Coercive Control) in the Directorate of Psychology and Public Health and is Visiting Fellow in the Criminal Justice Hub and Connected Lives, Diverse Realities Research Group, in the School of Health and Society at the University of Salford, UK. Rod is a Social Psychologist who has been researching the psychology and aetiology of undue influence and cults or extremist groups for over twenty years, and he has developed the Totalistic Identity Theory as an evidence-based theory to explain and tackle ideological extremism and ideologically driven violence. He is also an active researcher in a variety of other areas including organizational behaviour and healthiness, the social psychology of identity and prejudice, and public policy and education. A graduate member of the British Psychological Society, Rod is a member of the Board of Directors of the International Cultic Studies Association and is also Chair of the ICSA Research Committee and Network and he is co-Editor of the International Journal of Cultic Studies (since its inception in 2010). In 2006, he was awarded The Herbert L. Rosedale Award, jointly with Dr. Paul Martin, for their psychological research on undue influence. Rod co-founded the Re-Entry Therapy Information and Referral Network (RETIRN) UK in 2004 with Dr Linda Dubrow-Marshall, where he serves as a consultant in helping individuals and families who have been adversely affected by destructive or damaging cults and other extremist and high demand/manipulative groups or relationships. He operates out of offices in Pontypridd, Wales and Buxton, Derbyshire, UK (please also see www.retirn.com). Rod has also served on more than a dozen Governing Boards of Schools, Colleges and Universities over the last two decades and he is currently a governor and director of the Akaal Primary School in Derby and is also a longstanding member of the Board of the homelessness charity the Wallich (headquartered in Cardiff, Wales). In addition, he is a member of the Board of Directors of the Buxton International Festival and is Chair of the Board of the Preston Guild Link charity (in Lancashire, UK) which is fundraising for the next Preston Guild cultural festival in 2032! Rod is also an experienced senior leader and manager in higher education having served for 15 years in the roles of Deputy Vice-Chancellor at the University of Derby, Pro Vice-Chancellor at the University of Central Lancashire in Preston and as Dean of Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of South Wales and Dean of Applied Social Sciences and Humanities at Buckinghamshire New University. [IJCS Editors; Research Network; Directors]
Linda Dubrow-Marshall
Head of Psychology
The University of Salford
Linda Dubrow-Marshall, PhD, Reg. MBACP (Accred.), is Chair of the Mental Health Committee for ICSA, Research Co-editor of ICSA Today, and a member of the Research Network for ICSA. She is a co-founder of RETIRN (please also see www.retirn.com), a private practice that provides services to individuals and families who have been affected by cultic influence and abusive relationships. Linda has developed a new MSc Psychology of Coercive Control program at the University of Salford and is leading the program with Dr. Rod Dubrow-Marshall. She is also the Programme Leader of the MSc Applied Psychology (Therapies) Program at the University of Salford. She is registered with the Health and Care Professions Council, United Kingdom, as both a clinical and a counselling psychologist, and she is a registered counsellor/psychotherapist with the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy. She is a licensed psychologist in Pennsylvania, USA, and a registered psychologist with the National Register of Health Service Psychologists, USA. She attends as co-representative of RETIRN/UK as correspondent to the General Assembly of FECRIS (European Federation of Centres of Research and Education on Sects). Dr. Dubrow-Marshall is a Consultant in Clinical Hypnosis (advanced certification) with the American Society of Clinical Hypnosis and is certified by the Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Institute. She is certified as a Master Addiction Counselor with the National Certification Commission for Addiction Professionals.