"He Was Afraid I Wouldn't Come Back": Experiences of Transportation Coercion Among Survivors of Intimate Partner Violence in the United States

IntroductionTransportation coercion, which we define as controlling a survivor's access to transportation, is an understudied tactic that abusive partners utilize to establish, build, and maintain power and control in their relationship.PurposeThe purpose of this study was to explore survivors' experiences with transportation coercion in the United States using descriptive phenomenology.MethodsParticipants were recruited from three intimate partner violence (IPV) shelters in the Southern United States. The study participants were 20 female survivors of IPV who were receiving services from an IPV agency in urban (n = 7), suburban (n = 8), or rural (n = 5) areas. Over half (55%) of the participants were women of color (n = 11).ResultsThe researchers identified three themes within the study data that included: (1) types of transportation coercion (both physical and psychological transportation coercion), (2) the impact of transportation coercion on survivors and their children, which highlighted the isolation and the negative impact their health and access to services, and (3) strategies to maintain autonomy to access basic needs, medical care, and safety.ConclusionFuture research is needed to explore transportation coercion in other parts of the U.S. and internationally with diverse samples. Practitioners can empower survivors to maintain their autonomy by helping survivors recognize coercive control tactics that limit their mobility, providing transportation or advocating for transportation through the use of partnerships, and including policies that foster informal support networks for transportation.