Walk the walk, slowly and carefully when centering women and survivors in the Perpetrator Work of Coercive Control: In conversation with Jo Todd

Abstract

With decades of knowledge within the domestic abuse sector, Jo Todd is the leader of one of the UK’s most respected organisations in the Work With Perpetrators sector: Respect. Established as a membership organisation, Respect sums more than 23 years of promoting “safe, effective work with perpetrators, male victims and young people who use violence” with the aim of tackling domestic abuse and centering the victim-survivor experience.Recently, Jo Todd was awarded with the “Commander of the British Empire” (CBE) medal for her highly-distinguished, innovative contribution around services to victims of domestic abuse. The award though, has not removed any humility from Jo. In early September, I happily engaged in a rich conversation with a strong, grounded woman that I am sure more than one can find inspiration from. For this special issue, our discussion delved into the role and actuality of work with perpetrators and coercive control, highlighting the significance for the victims-survivors, the meanings of justice regarding coercive control and the implications of its criminalisation. Finally, we ended our conversation imagining the dreamt, but also the real, future of the issue.Mónica Sánchez Hernández:Thank you very much Jo for joining me today to talk about your experience and your thoughts about coercive control. You must be really proud of your recent award. Regardless of any colonial/imperial connotations that the CBE medal might have, it must be good to have your work acknowledged — especially in the current times.Well, I’d like to begin the interview by asking you what triggered your interest to move from supporting survivors to the “dark side” of working with perpetrators. Is there any particular moment, any experience that you remember?