Power and Control in the Legal System: From Marriage/Relationship to Divorce and Custody
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to examine the ways in which abuse that occurred during marriage/relationship continued within divorce and custody-related legal proceedings. Twenty-seven women participated in semistructured interviews. Interviews were analyzed utilizing a grounded theory approach in order to inductively arrive at a theory explaining how abuse dynamics may continue during legal proceedings. Participants identified child support litigation, custody and visitation battles, intimidation/harassment, deliberately prolonging the case, manipulating finances, and distortions of information as methods by which their exes sought to maintain power and control. Counseling implications are described.
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Mothers who seek mental health treatment for depression or anxiety that directly stems from abuse risk being perceived as an unfit parent, cast as psychologically unstable, and having this used against them in court proceedings.
“For instance, mothers who seek mental health treatment for depression or anxiety that directly stems from the abuse they experienced risk being perceived as an unfit parent, cast as psychologically unstable (Gutowski & Goodman, 2020; Watson & Ancis, 2013) and having this used against them in court proceedings (Wuest et al., 2006).”
From Post‐separation abuse: A concept analysis (2023) · cites this paper as Watson & Ancis, 2013
Abused mothers reported ex-partners sought full custody or increased visitation to cause distress, not to be involved in children's lives.
“For example, abused mothers have reported that their ex-partners sought full custody or increased visitation time out of a desire to cause them distress and not out of a wish to be involved in their children’s lives (Watson & Ancis, 2013).”
From Coercive Control in the Courtroom: the Legal Abuse Scale (LAS) (2023) · cites this paper as Watson & Ancis, 2013
Qualitative research has documented mechanisms of legal abuse including forced face-to-face contact, attacks on parental rights or visitation, threats to children's safety, public denigration of parenting, and financial abuse.
“Thus, qualitative research has documented the mechanisms through which partners use legal abuse including by forcing survivors into distressing face-to-face contact through court proceedings (Elizabeth, 2017; Miller & Smolter, 2011; Przekop, 2011), attacking the survivor’s parental rights or visitation time (Toews & Bermea, 2017; Watson & Ancis, 2013; Ward, 2016)”
From Coercive Control in the Courtroom: the Legal Abuse Scale (LAS) (2023) · cites this paper as Watson & Ancis, 2013
Ex-partners may distort information or lie in court as a control tactic.
“Ex-partners may also distort information or lie in court as a tactic of control (Miller & Manzer, 2018; Toews & Bermea, 2017; Watson & Ancis, 2013).”
From Coercive Control in the Courtroom: the Legal Abuse Scale (LAS) (2023) · cites this paper as Watson & Ancis, 2013
Prolonging a legal case financially drains survivors by increasing representation costs.
“Prolonging the legal case can also financially drain survivors, as extending legal negotiations increases the cost of representation (Toews & Bermea, 2017; Watson & Ancis, 2013).”
From Coercive Control in the Courtroom: the Legal Abuse Scale (LAS) (2023) · cites this paper as Watson & Ancis, 2013
Parents using this abuse may lie about finances, hide assets, or change jobs to avoid sharing resources.
“Parents who use this form of abuse may lie about finances, hide assets, or change jobs in order to avoid sharing resources (Goldstein, 2010; Przekop, 2011; Watson & Ancis, 2013).”
From Coercive Control in the Courtroom: the Legal Abuse Scale (LAS) (2023) · cites this paper as Watson & Ancis, 2013
Cites
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A Historical Perspective on Parental Alienation Syndrome and Parental Alienation
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JAFFE, P. G., CROOKS, C. V., & POISSON, S. E. (2003) · Juvenile and Family Court Journal · doi:10.1111/j.1755-6988.2003.tb00086.x · Cited by 72 · see citing works
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Post‐separation abuse: A concept analysis
Spearman, K. J., Hardesty, J. L., & Campbell, J. (2023) · Journal of Advanced Nursing · doi:10.1111/jan.15310 · Cited by 100 · see citing works
“…health treatment for depression or anxiety that directly stems from the abuse they experienced risk being perceived as an unfit parent, cast as psychologically unstable (Gutowski & Goodman, 2020; Watson & Ancis, 2013) and having this used against them in court proceedings (Wuest et al., 2006).”
BackgroundCustody Stalking: A Mechanism of Coercively Controlling Mothers Following Separation
Elizabeth, V. (2017) · Feminist Legal Studies · doi:10.1007/s10691-017-9349-9 · Cited by 92 · see citing works
Gutowski, E., & Goodman, L. A. (2020) · Journal of Family Violence · doi:10.1007/s10896-019-00063-1 · Cited by 82 · see citing works
A self‐report measure of legal and administrative aggression within intimate relationships
Hines, D. A., Douglas, E. M., & Berger, J. L. (2015) · Aggressive Behavior · doi:10.1002/ab.21540 · Cited by 71 · see citing works
No way to turn: Traps encountered by many battered women with negative child custody experiences
Saunders, D. G., & Oglesby, K. H. (2016) · Journal of Child Custody · doi:10.1080/15379418.2016.1213114 · Cited by 61 · see citing works
Coercive Control in the Courtroom: the Legal Abuse Scale (LAS)
Gutowski, E. R., & Goodman, L. A. (2023) · Journal of Family Violence · doi:10.1007/s10896-022-00408-3 · Cited by 57 · see citing works
“Thus, qualitative research has documented the mechanisms through which partners use legal abuse including by forcing survivors into distressing face-to-face contact through court proceedings (Elizabeth, 2017; Miller & Smolter, 2011; Przekop, 2011), attacking the survivor’s parental rights or visitation time (Toews & B…”
BackgroundInfluentialMiller, S. L., & Manzer, J. L. (2021) · Journal of Interpersonal Violence · doi:10.1177/0886260518791599 · Cited by 47 · see citing works
‘It’s an invisible wound’: the disenfranchised grief of post-separation mothers who lose care time
Elizabeth, V. (2019) · Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law · doi:10.1080/09649069.2019.1554788 · Cited by 24 · see citing works
Tutty, L. M., Lorraine Radtke, H., & Nixon, K. L. (2024) · Violence Against Women · doi:10.1177/10778012231166408 · Cited by 21 · see citing works
“Dissolving a marital/common-law relationship is often fraught with power dynamics and controlling tactics from either side (Symoens et al., 2014; Visser et al., 2017) and child custody disputes commonly become harrowing, prolonged battles (Watson & Ancis, 2013).”
BackgroundEllis, D., Lewis, T., & Nepon, T. (2021) · Violence Against Women · doi:10.1177/1077801220921939 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
Jaffe, P., Bala, N., Medhekar, A., Scott, K., & Oliver, C. (2025) · Family Court Review · doi:10.1111/fcre.70002 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
- Authors
- Watson, L. B., & Ancis, J. R.
- Affiliations
- Georgia State University (US)
- Venue
- Violence Against Women
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2013-02
- Volume
- 19
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 166-186
- ISSN
- 1077-8012 (ISSN-L)
- 1552-8448
- OpenAlex
- W2158109111
- Cited by
- 50
- References
- 5
- Citations by year
- 2026: 9 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 2 · 2019: 2 · 2018: 2 · 2017: 1 · 2016: 3 · 2015: 5 · 2014: 3
- FWCI
- 4.20
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Violence Against Women (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Health › Intimate Partner and Family Violence
- Social Sciences › Law › Family and Matrimonial Law
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Stalking, Cyberstalking, and Harassment
- Keywords
- intimate partner violence, domestic violence, divorce proceedings, child custody, child support litigation, power and control, harassment, financial manipulation, information distortion, counseling implications, women survivors
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Child, Child Care, Child Custody, Coercion, Divorce, Female, Humans, Interviews as Topic, Male, Marriage, Middle Aged, Power, Psychological, Psychological Theory, Spouse Abuse, Bullying
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