The Equality Wheel

February 28, 2019 9:51 AM

Developed in the 1980's as part of the Duluth Model, the Equality Wheel is used to teach healthy relationship dynamics to people who have experienced domestic violence. Rather than simply helping to identify and describe abuse (see the Power and Control (P&C) wheel), it seeks "to describe the changes needed for men who batter to move from being abusive to [being in a] non-violent partnership". Co-creator Ellen Pence briefly talks about gathering the stories from women's groups that became the P&C wheel. It has spawned a variety of wheels covering topics ranging from LGBTQ+ relationships, disability (P&C, Equality), community accountability and more than 75 others collected here.

The documentary "Power and Control: Domestic Violence in America" from which the interview with Ellen Pence is taken is available (for free with Prime) on Amazon and for organizations through their website.

posted by Anonymous (2 comments total)

I've used the power and control wheel many times when talking with DV victims. It's such a great tool. Victims recognize that their experiences are not isolated to just them, and that DV is a pattern of behavior more than just physical violence.

It enables victims to put a name and context to behaviors that make them feel isolated and confused.

I so appreciate that this tool was created.
posted by Gorgik at 1:06 PM on February 28, 2019 [7 favorites]

I feel like there needs to be a version of this for use at the societal level as well as the individual/intimate level, helping people who wield significant power understand the ways in which it negatively impacts the people they inevitably exploit.
posted by terretu at 11:56 PM on February 28, 2019 [3 favorites]