Citation

Reeves E, Fitz-Gibbon K, Meyer S, Walklate S. Violence Against Women 2023; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2023, SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/10778012231220370

PMID

38105507

Abstract

Research has long demonstrated that victim-survivors of intimate partner violence face barriers to being believed when they seek help via the legal system and are simultaneously at risk of their abuser weaponizing the legal system against them. This article draws on the experiences of 54 women victim-survivors of coercive control in Australia who had experienced legal systems abuse within criminal and civil protection order systems. Drawing on feminist legal theory, we highlight that the legal system continues to disbelieve women and validate abusers. These experiences hold implications for victim-survivor views on the merits and risks of criminalizing coercive control.

Language: en

Keywords

civil protection orders; coercive control; criminal legal system; feminist legal theory; legal systems abuse