How He Uses System Actors — And the System Itself

Social Entrapment Theory is insightful. It's not enough.

Systems abuse is a devastating family violence tactic — perpetrators manipulate responders and institutional systems to harm and entrap victim-survivors.

Social Entrapment Theory has rightly reshaped how we understand victim-survivors' experience of coercive control and entrapment.

It's insightful and useful — but on its own, it doesn't explain how he does it, or how and where systems fail.

This workshop closes that gap: moving from theory to the specific mechanics of how perpetrators use systems, and how systems let it happen.

What you'll learn

Why Social Entrapment Theory is insightful — and why it isn't, on its own, enough to explain how systems abuse operates
The two pathways of institutional harm:
Predominant Aggressor Manipulation (PAM) — how systems are manipulated into becoming complicit in the violence
The violence embedded in systems themselves — through the 4 P's: Policies, Procedures, Processes, and Practice
How everyday practices can unintentionally contribute to entrapment
A brief introduction to how children are harmed within Systemic Coercive Control
How to respond ethically and effectively — resisting complicity and supporting survivor safety
You'll leave with a set of practical handouts to keep and use directly in your work.

Workshop Aims

This workshop aims to increase family violence responders’ understanding of Institutional Systems Abuse (ISA) in the context of Systemic Coercive Control (SCC).
Learning outcomes are guided through Jacki’s conceptual model of being Informed, Applied, and Accountable.
The training unveils the mechanics of systems abuse by presenting doctoral research findings that offer a deeper understanding of how systems abuse takes place within institutional responses.

Key Learnings Include:

Understanding Systems Abuse and the various tactics used within these abuse forms
Informed – Reflects on models of understanding and offers a deconstruction of Social Entrapment Theory, moving beyond the framing of institutional harm as inadvertent or indifferent
Applied – This section introduces the pathways of harmful responses
Accountable – Takes a closer look at our ethical responsibilities as responders, to ourselves and to others.

Who Should Attend:

Family violence practitioners, social workers, case managers, legal professionals, health professionals, police, and others working within or alongside institutional systems that respond to intimate partner violence

© Jacki Rowles. Shareable with proper citation only. Please do not reproduce, adapt, or present this work as your own .

How Predominant Aggressors use Systems Abuse in their Coercive Control Strategies

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