Understanding Coercive Control from Victim Offender Overlap

Research has demonstrated a pronounced and positive link between participation in criminal behavior and the experience of victimization, also known as the overlap between victims and offenders. The Victim-Offender overlap examines the intricate connection between individuals who experience victimization and those who engage in criminal behavior. It challenges the conventional notion of victims and offenders as separate entities by exploring the potential overlap or relationship between them. This approach reveals instances where victims may later become offenders due to factors like trauma or personal circumstances. Equally, offenders can also become victims, creating a victim-to-offender relationship. Early research documented the victim-offender overlap, in which 64% of homicide offenders and 47% of homicide victims previously had criminal records. In 2006, later research found that 57% of homicide offenders and 50% of homicide victims had criminal charges. These studies showed Victim-Offender overlap and that many murdered victims had criminal records, and many of them precipitated homicides.   While the victim-offender relationship is consistently reported in the wider victimology literature, it is driven by multiple factors rather than a single one. Victims of a crime who engaged in offending behaviours likely go through trauma. For instance, children who experience domestic abuse normalise violence, promoting……