A Detailed Framework of Grooming in Intimate Partner Abuse and its Connection with the Tremor of the Programmed Polyvagal Nervous System
Tracks
Room 4: In-Person Only
| Tuesday, November 26, 2024 |
| 11:55 AM - 12:15 PM |
| Room 4 |
Overview
Leanne Nunn, University of Tasmania
Speaker
Ms Leanne Nunn
Psychologist/PhD Candidate
University Of Tasmania
A Detailed Framework of Grooming in Intimate Partner Abuse and its Connection with the Tremor of the Programmed Polyvagal Nervous System
Abstract
There is limited research into the nature of abuse in the early stages of relationships including the progression in early coercive and controlling behaviours. Monckton-Smith’s (2020) model of the eight stages of femicide is focused on relationships that progress towards femicide and therefore may not fully apply to relationships with IPA that do not end in murder. The qualitative investigation into the earliest warning signs of intimate partner abuse (IPA) that I conducted identified similarities between the early stages of relationships with IPA and current adult sexual grooming models.
I have combined the findings from my research with aspects from Sinnamon’s Model of Adult Sexual Grooming (2017), the first three stages of Monckton-Smith’s (2020) model of femicide, and Stark’s (2007) explanation of coercive control and entrapment, as well as findings from other researchers to develop a framework of grooming that reflects the steps that occur from the beginning of relationships with IPA. This framework is graduated in nature, where each stage builds on the previous one, and is founded on trial-and-error, where the perpetrator is testing and adjusting their strategies throughout.
Essential to understanding the grooming that leads relationships towards more severe abuse is ‘the tremor’ - a gut reaction or feeling of unease that occurs for victim-survivors and warns of increasing abuse within a relationship. In this presentation I will explain how the tremor develops through the programmed vagal brake of the polyvagal nervous system.
The application of this understanding of the tremor and it’s link to grooming in IPA provides a unique perspective of the beginning of abusive relationships and may provide important information for prevention activities. The aim in developing and sharing this framework of grooming is to assist practitioners and victim-survivors to more fully comprehend the graduated process in relationships with IPA that lead towards entrapment.
Key Learnings:
1. Detailed information of the grooming process of intimate partner abuse (IPA) and its similarities with grooming in adult sexual assault.
2. The role of the polyvagal theory's vagal brake in the early stages of relationships with IPA.
3. The link between increased understanding of grooming in IPA and prevention programs.
I have combined the findings from my research with aspects from Sinnamon’s Model of Adult Sexual Grooming (2017), the first three stages of Monckton-Smith’s (2020) model of femicide, and Stark’s (2007) explanation of coercive control and entrapment, as well as findings from other researchers to develop a framework of grooming that reflects the steps that occur from the beginning of relationships with IPA. This framework is graduated in nature, where each stage builds on the previous one, and is founded on trial-and-error, where the perpetrator is testing and adjusting their strategies throughout.
Essential to understanding the grooming that leads relationships towards more severe abuse is ‘the tremor’ - a gut reaction or feeling of unease that occurs for victim-survivors and warns of increasing abuse within a relationship. In this presentation I will explain how the tremor develops through the programmed vagal brake of the polyvagal nervous system.
The application of this understanding of the tremor and it’s link to grooming in IPA provides a unique perspective of the beginning of abusive relationships and may provide important information for prevention activities. The aim in developing and sharing this framework of grooming is to assist practitioners and victim-survivors to more fully comprehend the graduated process in relationships with IPA that lead towards entrapment.
Key Learnings:
1. Detailed information of the grooming process of intimate partner abuse (IPA) and its similarities with grooming in adult sexual assault.
2. The role of the polyvagal theory's vagal brake in the early stages of relationships with IPA.
3. The link between increased understanding of grooming in IPA and prevention programs.
Biography
Leanne has over twenty five years of experience as a psychologist in the clinical, management and training sectors and has her own lived experience of intimate partner abuse (IPA). She is a PhD Candidate at the University of Tasmania focusing on the earliest warning signs of IPA. She has worked with thousands of women that have experienced IPA or childhood abuse extensively throughout her career, both individually and in groups, across private practice, hospital and community settings.
