Legal systems abuse and coercive control
Abstract
This article considers how legal engagement can be an opportunity to exercise coercive control over a former intimate partner. Drawing on interviews with 65 women who engaged with the legal system as a result of violence in their intimate relationships, this article explores how women’s engagement with the legal system is frequently experienced as an extension of an intimate partner’s coercive control. It builds on existing research showing how legal processes provide an opportunity for perpetrators to continue and even expand their repertoire of coercive and controlling behaviours post-separation. I refer to this as legal systems abuse. This article explores women’s reported experiences and considers how expectations of equality of access to justice and fair hearing; concepts that underpin legal processes, can be reconciled with legal engagements that seek to end coercive and controlling behaviours. The article concludes that improved understanding of domestic and family violence as coercive control by legal actors may help to circumvent the opportunities for legal systems abuse.
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Douglas' interviews with 65 Australian women identified conflict with respect to civil protection orders, court appearances, calling inappropriate witnesses and contacting Child Protective Services.
“As well as difficulties with the family law process, Douglas’ interviews with 65 Australian women identified conflict with respect to civil protection orders, court appearances, calling inappropriate witnesses and contacting Child Protective Services.”
From “He Tells People That I Am Going to Kill My Children”: Post-Separation Coercive Control in Men Who Perpetrate IPV (2024) · cites this paper as Douglas, 2018
Abusive partners may use legal systems to continue controlling their ex-partners.
“Abusive partners may use legal systems to continue controlling their ex-partners (Douglas, 2018; Ellis et al., 2021).”
From “He Tells People That I Am Going to Kill My Children”: Post-Separation Coercive Control in Men Who Perpetrate IPV (2024) · cites this paper as Douglas, 2018
The coercive control tactics used against women by their ex-partners in both the quantitative and qualitative analyses in the current study are consistent with the previously published, largely qualitative research on this topic.
“The coercive control tactics used against women by their ex-partners in both the quantitative and qualitative analyses in the current study are consistent with the previously published, largely qualitative research on this topic (Broughton & Ford-Gilboe, 2017; Crossman et al., 2016; Douglas, 2018; Hardesty & Ganong, 2006; Hayes, 2012; Krigel & Benjamin, 2021; Sharp-Jeffs et al., 2018; Toews & Berm”
From “He Tells People That I Am Going to Kill My Children”: Post-Separation Coercive Control in Men Who Perpetrate IPV (2024) · cites this paper as Douglas, 2018
Domestic violence is gaining acceptance across many jurisdictions as more than just physical violence.
“Domestic violence, also known as intimate partner violence (IPV), is gaining acceptance across many jurisdictions as more than just physical violence (Elizabeth, 2015), for example, in New Zealand (Elizabeth, 2017), Australia (Douglas, 2018), UK (Barnett, 2015), Hungary (Galátai et al., 2019), Canada (Fotheringham et al., 2013), and in the United States (Gutowski & Goodman, 2020;Walker, 2020).”
From A survey of mothers' experiences of shared parenting and domestic violence (2023) · cites this paper as Douglas, 2018
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References 17 · Cited by 188
- Authors
- Douglas, H.
- Affiliations
- The University of Queensland (AU)
- Corresponding author
- Douglas, Heather
- ORCID
- Douglas, Heather
- Venue
- Criminology & Criminal Justice
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2017-08-22
- Volume
- 18
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 84-99
- ISSN
- 1748-8958 (ISSN-L)
- 1748-8966
- OpenAlex
- W2488023959
- Cited by
- 188
- References
- 17
- Citations by year
- 2026: 23 · 2025: 27 · 2024: 30 · 2023: 21 · 2022: 27 · 2021: 33 · 2020: 13 · 2019: 10 · 2018: 4
- FWCI
- 8.21
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Criminology & Criminal Justice (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Health › Intimate Partner and Family Violence
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Stalking, Cyberstalking, and Harassment
- Social Sciences › Law › Criminal Justice and Penology
- Keywords
- coercive control, intimate partner violence, domestic violence, access to justice, right to a fair hearing, legal actors
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