Emma Katz

Dr Emma Katz, Ph.D., is an internationally-renowned expert in domestic abuse and coercive control, whose work has influenced legislation in the UK and overseas.

Coercive control is a form of domestic abuse where perpetrators use a pattern of threats, humiliation or intimidation to control and dominate their partner or children, depriving them of independence and isolating them from support. Because coercive control does not always involve physical violence, it has often been under-reported and under-recognised.

Emma’s research with mothers and children who have survived coercive control carried out against them by children's fathers has transformed understandings of domestic abuse. Her research has shed crucial light on how children are affected by many forms of abuse beyond physical violence against their mothers, including deprivation of resources, loss of autonomy and freedom, and isolation from the outside world.

Emma is tireless in raising awareness of coercive control and its impact on children, giving regular training sessions to professionals working with families who have experienced domestic abuse.

Her book, Coercive Control in Children’s and Mothers’ Lives (2022, Oxford University Press) is described as a ‘pioneering work’ that ‘will change how we understand and respond to children’s experience of domestic abuse’ (Evan Stark, Professor Emeritus, Rutgers University).

Follow Emma on Twitter @DrEmmaKatz

Dr Emma Katz gained her Ph.D. from the University of Nottingham and is currently Associate Professor in Sociology at Durham University. She resides in the UK with her husband and 3 dogs.