Family violence is a pattern of behaviors used to gain or maintain power and control. The Power and Control Wheel was created by the Domestic Abuse Intervention Project in Duluth, MN, and serves as a diagram of tactics that an abusive partner uses to keep their victim in a relationship. The Power and Control Wheel diagram assumes she/her pronouns for survivors and he/him pronouns for partners. However, the abusive behavior it details can happen to people of any gender or sexuality.  

The inside of the wheel makes up subtle, continual behaviors over time, while the outer ring represents physical and sexual violence. Thus, abusive actions like those depicted in the outer ring reinforce the regular use of other, more subtle methods found in the inner ring. For more information about tactics outlined in the Wheel of Violence and their meaning see link below:  

https://www.theduluthmodel.org/wheels/understanding-power-control-wheel/  

The Power and Control Wheel has been adapted to outline abusive behaviours for different people with intersectional identities and experiences. See some adaptations below: