Domestic Abuse in Financial Remedy Cases

Whilst domestic abuse is one of the issues currently at the top of the family law agenda, it is not as prominent in financial remedy work as it is in children work and professional discussion is limited. While there has been very little research on domestic abuse in financial proceedings in England and Wales (or indeed, anywhere else), the research that does exist suggests that issues of domestic abuse may be present in a significant proportion of financial proceedings, with approximately one third of contested cases and one quarter of consent order cases containing some conduct which amounts to domestic abuse. The aim of this article is to explore how family justice professionals working in the field of financial remedies can identify where domestic abuse may be present and, the ways in which economic abuse and coercive and controlling behaviour may be relevant in such proceedings. In addition, we make a number of suggestions as to how family justice professionals should approach a financial remedies case when issues of domestic abuse might be raised.