The power and control wheel was developed in the early 1980s in Duluth, MN, an early center of innovation for the battered women’s movement. Ellen Pence, Michael Paymar and Coral McDonald created the wheel after meeting extensively with battered women’s groups in Duluth and credited the women’s input as being the sole basis for the concept. They also created the Domestic Abuse Intervention Project, which continues to operate local domestic violence programs and an international training program. Both Pence and Paymar have been interviewed for the film — excerpts and transcripts of the interviews are on this site.
Since the early 80s, the wheel has spread around the world. According to DAIP, the wheel has been translated into about 40 languages. Advocates have also used the concept of the wheel in dozens other contexts — ranging from an elder abuse wheel to a teen equality wheel. Many of these wheels can be found at the National Center for Domestic and Sexual Violence.
Here are some of the translated wheels, in PDF format:
