10/29/2025
October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month
Domestic violence is a pattern of behaviors used to gain or maintain power and control. The Power and Control Wheel was created by the Domestic Abuse Intervention Project in Duluth, MN, and serves to identify the patterns of power and control that underlie abusive relationships.
The wheel diagram serves to show tactics abusive partners use to keep survivors in a relationship. The inside of the wheel makes up subtle, continual behaviors over time, while the outer ring represents physical and sexual violence. Thus, abusive actions like those depicted in the outer ring reinforce the regular use of other, more subtle methods found in the inner ring. Click through the photos to learn more about the power and control wheel as well as the dynamics of abusive relationships in general. For more information, visit https://www.theduluthmodel.org/wheels/
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic or intimate partner violence, help is available. In Tulsa, Domestic Violence Intervention Services offers a 24-hour information and crisis line at 918-743-5763. You can also reach the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-7233 or by texting START to 88788.
The Al Carlozzi Center for Counseling is here for you. Call 918-594-8568 or visit https://tulsa.okstate.edu/counselingcenter for more information about scheduling an appointment.
