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Andréa Lagorse |Understanding Women’s Experiences in Cultic Groups in Québec
These environments tend to reinforce patriarchal
logics in highly structured and coercive ways. The
group context exacerbates the gender inequalities
experienced by women in society (Ward, 2000). Many
groups maintain a patriarchal power system marked
by the superiority of men, and women are forced to
adopt more traditional, subordinate roles as mothers
and wives (Collective of Women, 1997 Jacobs, 1991
Lamboley et al., 2022 Ward, 2000 Weishaupt &
Stensland, 1997 Whitsett &Post Rosow, 2020). This
domination makes them vulnerable to violence and
sexual exploitation from the leader or other members
of the community (Lalich, 1997). In this context,
women may be subjected to sexual relationships with
the leader, often framed as a spiritual duty, privilege,
sign of loyalty, or means of connecting with the divine
(Lalich, 1997). They may also experience various
forms of physical violence, including intimate partner
violence, medical neglect, forced or arranged marriages,
and reproductive coercion. The central issue, however,
lies in the fact that women are unable to give free and
informed consent within such a coercive environment
(Dayan, 2018). This lack of autonomy erodes their self-
esteem, strengthens their psychological dependence
on the group, and makes it even more difficult to leave
(Collective of Women, 1997 Ward, 2000 Whitsett &
Post Rosow, 2020).
To better understand these dynamics, this study draws
on coercive control theory (Stark, 2007), a feminist-
informed framework that conceptualizes violence
not as a series of discrete events but as a pattern of
ongoing, often subtle strategies designed to dominate,
isolate, and regulate women’s everyday lives. While
Stark (2007) developed this theory in the context
of intimate partner relationships, its relevance to
cultic environments, where control is both collective
and individualized, is increasingly recognized in the
literature. This framework thus allows us to grasp the
mechanisms through which cultic groups maintain
women’s subjugation and prevent their exit, while
reinforcing gendered norms that strip them of their
agency and autonomy.
Theoretical Framework
In his book Coercive Control: How Men Entrap
Women in Everyday Life, Evan Stark (2007) introduces
the concept of coercive control as a framework for
understanding how power and domination are
maintained in gendered relationships, often beyond
visible or legally recognized forms of violence.
According to Stark (2007), despite the progress in
women’s rights, women continue to be dominated and
subjected to male authority. This persistent inequality
places them in a subordinate position and reflects the
enduring influence of historically patriarchal systems.
In this context, men use violence instrumentally to
maintain inequality.
To capture this dynamic, Stark (2007) defines coercive
control as a pattern of often minor but frequent acts
designed to intimidate, isolate, humiliate, exploit,
regulate, and control all aspects of women’s daily lives.
To implement coercive control, men personalize their
domination by using structural and cultural constraints
and adapting them to their intimate relationships.
Coercive control is then difficult to detect because the
tactics used can easily be confused with the sacrifices
society expects women to make in their roles as wives
and mothers. Coercive control is therefore a long-
term process, part of a continuum of violence and
domination, reinforced by the gender inequalities
that persist in our society. But how does this control
translate into concrete interpersonal relationships?
Stark (2007) highlights four main tactics used by men
to dominate women in intimate relationships. The first
is violence towards the partner. This violence can be
found both in sexual coercion (forcing the woman to
have non-consensual relations) and acts of physical
violence. Stark (2007) points out that frequency and
cumulative effect of minor violence distinguish coercive
control from other forms of violence. In the case of
coercive control, physical violence is not, for men, an
end, but an additional means of dominating women.
Men control women’s daily activities so that they feel
like hostages, consumed by the fear of making a false
move. Each man uses the privileged information he has
about the woman to define his control tactics. These
strategies make coercive control even more difficult to
detect by women and society alike.
Intimidation is the second tactic Stark (2007) identifies.
This intimidation is characterized by constant
surveillance of the woman, her gestures and actions,
with the aim of inducing a fear in her that will push
her into ever greater submission. Intimidation is also
Andréa Lagorse |Understanding Women’s Experiences in Cultic Groups in Québec
These environments tend to reinforce patriarchal
logics in highly structured and coercive ways. The
group context exacerbates the gender inequalities
experienced by women in society (Ward, 2000). Many
groups maintain a patriarchal power system marked
by the superiority of men, and women are forced to
adopt more traditional, subordinate roles as mothers
and wives (Collective of Women, 1997 Jacobs, 1991
Lamboley et al., 2022 Ward, 2000 Weishaupt &
Stensland, 1997 Whitsett &Post Rosow, 2020). This
domination makes them vulnerable to violence and
sexual exploitation from the leader or other members
of the community (Lalich, 1997). In this context,
women may be subjected to sexual relationships with
the leader, often framed as a spiritual duty, privilege,
sign of loyalty, or means of connecting with the divine
(Lalich, 1997). They may also experience various
forms of physical violence, including intimate partner
violence, medical neglect, forced or arranged marriages,
and reproductive coercion. The central issue, however,
lies in the fact that women are unable to give free and
informed consent within such a coercive environment
(Dayan, 2018). This lack of autonomy erodes their self-
esteem, strengthens their psychological dependence
on the group, and makes it even more difficult to leave
(Collective of Women, 1997 Ward, 2000 Whitsett &
Post Rosow, 2020).
To better understand these dynamics, this study draws
on coercive control theory (Stark, 2007), a feminist-
informed framework that conceptualizes violence
not as a series of discrete events but as a pattern of
ongoing, often subtle strategies designed to dominate,
isolate, and regulate women’s everyday lives. While
Stark (2007) developed this theory in the context
of intimate partner relationships, its relevance to
cultic environments, where control is both collective
and individualized, is increasingly recognized in the
literature. This framework thus allows us to grasp the
mechanisms through which cultic groups maintain
women’s subjugation and prevent their exit, while
reinforcing gendered norms that strip them of their
agency and autonomy.
Theoretical Framework
In his book Coercive Control: How Men Entrap
Women in Everyday Life, Evan Stark (2007) introduces
the concept of coercive control as a framework for
understanding how power and domination are
maintained in gendered relationships, often beyond
visible or legally recognized forms of violence.
According to Stark (2007), despite the progress in
women’s rights, women continue to be dominated and
subjected to male authority. This persistent inequality
places them in a subordinate position and reflects the
enduring influence of historically patriarchal systems.
In this context, men use violence instrumentally to
maintain inequality.
To capture this dynamic, Stark (2007) defines coercive
control as a pattern of often minor but frequent acts
designed to intimidate, isolate, humiliate, exploit,
regulate, and control all aspects of women’s daily lives.
To implement coercive control, men personalize their
domination by using structural and cultural constraints
and adapting them to their intimate relationships.
Coercive control is then difficult to detect because the
tactics used can easily be confused with the sacrifices
society expects women to make in their roles as wives
and mothers. Coercive control is therefore a long-
term process, part of a continuum of violence and
domination, reinforced by the gender inequalities
that persist in our society. But how does this control
translate into concrete interpersonal relationships?
Stark (2007) highlights four main tactics used by men
to dominate women in intimate relationships. The first
is violence towards the partner. This violence can be
found both in sexual coercion (forcing the woman to
have non-consensual relations) and acts of physical
violence. Stark (2007) points out that frequency and
cumulative effect of minor violence distinguish coercive
control from other forms of violence. In the case of
coercive control, physical violence is not, for men, an
end, but an additional means of dominating women.
Men control women’s daily activities so that they feel
like hostages, consumed by the fear of making a false
move. Each man uses the privileged information he has
about the woman to define his control tactics. These
strategies make coercive control even more difficult to
detect by women and society alike.
Intimidation is the second tactic Stark (2007) identifies.
This intimidation is characterized by constant
surveillance of the woman, her gestures and actions,
with the aim of inducing a fear in her that will push
her into ever greater submission. Intimidation is also
