Family lawyers have long recognised that the family court’s approach to domestic abuse in financial remedy proceedings on divorce is inadequate. In particular, the court has given limited recognition to controlling and coercive behaviour and to economic abuse. As social understanding of these complex issues has developed, the remedies available to victim-survivors have not kept pace.
For this reason, the Ministry of Justice’s consultation on family law reform, launched on 5 June, has come at a welcome time and provides an opportunity to comment on and shape well-overdue reform. The consultation clearly sets out four underlying principles, including protection for the vulnerable. Rightly, there has been a significant focus on the protection for cohabitants which lies at the heart of the consultation, but there is also a new focus on how to better recognise domestic abuse. The question, inevitably, is how this consultation can be translated into meaningful change.
A cultural shift
Since 2023, Resolution has been examining what change is needed to address the issues that family
