Unveiling Perspecticide: Understanding a New Form of Psychological Abuse

Psychological abuse in relationships extends far beyond physical violence. Terms like gaslighting, love bombing, and emotional blackmail are familiar, yet a new term, perspecticide, is emerging to describe a particularly insidious form of mental manipulation.

Though the word 'perspecticide' is rare even in international academic literature and has no direct equivalent in many languages, its impact is profound and widespread. Lisa Aronson Fontes, a researcher at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and author of Invisible Chains: Overcoming Coercive Control in Your Intimate Relationship, offers an in-depth explanation of this phenomenon.

Lisa Aronson Fontes

Researcher at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and author specializing in coercive control in intimate relationships.

Defining Perspecticide

Perspecticide refers to a process where an abusive partner systematically alters the victim's worldview. The victim loses their own opinions, ideas, and perspectives, seeing reality only through the lens imposed by the abuser. This manipulation makes recognizing the truth unsafe or impossible. The term combines 'perspective' with the suffix '-cide,' meaning 'to kill,' effectively describing the 'killing' of one's viewpoint.

In essence, perspecticide means being unable to trust what you know to be true.

— Lisa Aronson Fontes

Perspecticide shares similarities with gaslighting, as both involve distorting reality. However, gaslighting primarily undermines the victim's confidence by questioning their memories and feelings, while perspecticide encompasses a broader erasure of the victim’s independent thought and autonomy. Gaslighting can be seen as a tactic within the wider scope of perspecticide.

Abusers use these tactics to make victims accept a false reality, eventually erasing their own thoughts, beliefs, and goals. This leads to a loss of self and total dependency on the abuser's narrative.

Experiences of Perspecticide Victims

Lisa Aronson Fontes shares real-life examples illustrating the devastating effects of perspecticide.

Denied Personal Space

In one case, a husband forbade his wife from having her own toothbrush, claiming that married couples share such items. This extended to controlling her access to private spaces, such as insisting she use the bathroom only with the door open.

Complete Domination

Another victim’s husband manipulated her daily routine by sleeping during the day and staying awake at night, demanding she do the same. He controlled her sleep, diet, and even hid her medications, leaving her physically weakened and disoriented to the point she forgot her own age.

Mind Reading Delusions

One woman believed her husband could read her thoughts, but in reality, he monitored her via cameras and trackers. Another was told by her partner that he implanted a microphone in her to monitor her activities, while he also controlled her movements through other means. When she shared these experiences, others dismissed her as delusional, deepening her isolation.

While these examples involve female victims, perspecticide can affect anyone regardless of gender.

Protecting Yourself from Perspecticide

Perspecticide is often a late stage of emotional abuse, occurring after prolonged psychological manipulation that isolates the victim and drains their internal and external resources. Early recognition of abusive behaviors is crucial to prevent reaching this stage.

Understanding the signs of coercive control and seeking support can empower individuals to maintain their autonomy and mental well-being before the abuse escalates.

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