It can be confusing when you know you’re in a bad marriage or you’ve left and you left because of the other party’s behaviour, but you can’t quite put into words what they did.
It could be coercive control. Examples of coercive control include relentless litigation and threats of litigation. In one case, the Court found that “the scale of the father’s litigation, its audacity,
and the zeal with which it was pursued, exuded a highly combative intent. He used the Court system to wage a war of attrition against the mother, as the litigation represented a completely inappropriate and disproportionate response to his frustrations.”
He was decared a vexatious litigant which means he cannot file a new case without leave (permission) from the court.
Vexatious litigation is a form of family violence.
There are connections between family violence offenders and vexatious litigants, and the detrimental impacts of vexatious litigation to victims.
Other examples of coercive control include:
– lack of proper disclosure;
– unjustified adjournments;
– unnecessary applications in a proceeding;
– seeking to admit evidence and cross-examination about irrelevant issues with the intent of causing embarrassment or anxiety;
– rejecting reasonable settlement offers;
– undertaking repeated appeals or reviews;
– defiance of Court orders; and
– making unfounded reports of abuse or neglect to police or child protection agencies.
If you are experiencing these behaviours, contact women’s legal services in your nearest city or:
Queensland: DV Connect 1800 811 811 or visit https://www.dvconnect.org/about-us/contact/
NSW: Visit https://dvnswsm.org.au/
ACT:https://www.dvcs.org.au/
Victoria: 1800 015188 or visit https://safesteps.org.au/
SA: https://womenssafetyservices.com.au/
NT: https://www.dawnhouse.org.au/support-services
WA: https://cwsw.org.au/domestic-and-family-violence-services-in-wa/
Tasmania: https://www.safefromviolence.tas.gov.au/family-violence
