Forced marriage, coercive control, and conducive contexts : the experiences of women in Scotland

Chantler, Khatidja and McCarry, Melanie (2020) Forced marriage, coercive control, and conducive contexts : the experiences of women in Scotland. Violence Against Women, 26 (1). pp. 89-109. ISSN 1552-8448 (https://doi.org/10.1177/1077801219830234)

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Abstract

This article is based on the first Scottish study of survivor perspectives of forced marriage. In-depth interviews were conducted with eight survivors. Our thematic analysis identified five key themes: understandings of forced marriage, the “grooming” process, betrayal, legal responses, and women’s resistance. Utilizing Stark’s framework of coercive control and Kelly’s concept of conducive contexts, we illuminate hitherto under-appreciated dynamics of forced marriage: (a) the conceptualization of forced marriage as a process rather than an event, (b) the role of mothers within patriarchal contexts, and (c) betrayals of family and services as compounding long-term adverse effects of forced marriage.