CCChat-Magazine_Issue-16

it’s very distinct from high conflict
situations that the courts always get
wrong, where they like to conflate these
two experiences.
High conflict is where two parties are
vying for power and coercive control is
where there is one party, normally the
man, who is more prominent.
There is a hierarchy of power and he is
definitely more powerful and has access
to, and uses those set of tactics to
maintain domination over the other –
and so it’s important that we debunk this
term, ‘high conflict’ as being used to
describe coercive control and domestic
abuse.
sides as they don’t have to go to the effort
of investigating who the primary abuser
is-if there is one.
Coercive control is complex and requires
a much greater level of awareness and
professional curiosity. It also suits the
abusive partner to claim it’s both, as a
way of watering down their own actions.
T: I think also there is a lot of cultural
pressure and bias that comes in, that
shows up as gender bias in the decisions
and actions of the courtroom, so that all
of the actors in the space aren’t required
to examine their gender bias, and aren’t
penalised when making decisions that
have harmful consequences because of
that bias and continue because nobody is
“Nobody is challenging them, nobody is creating protocols
that hold them accountable.”
Teri Yuan
A lot of people who are working in this
space, I’m sure you’ve encountered it as
well, but certainly for me in New York
City, there’s a lot of people who get
confused that coercive control and
domestic abuse is not a gendered crime
because they think that , if it happens in
same sex relationships, then we should
de-gender domestic abuse and that is not
the case because the tactics themselves
are enabled under patriarchy to maintain
male domination and power and anybody
can engage in those tactics, like women
can uphold patriarchal values by
supporting people like Donald Trump.
M: You’ve explained that really well. I’ve
never been able to adequately explain
how, even though domestic abuse is
gendered, men can also be victims.
My thoughts on high conflict is that
people are conflating it with coercive
control because it’s easier to blame both
challenging them, nobody is creating
protocols that hold them accountable.
And so, as the documentary says, there is
a whole system of people who continue to
benefit or profit from supporting people
who are empowered – which is the
monied party, which is usually the man -
because of the gender wage gap and
whatnot and also, if you are upholding
the truth and that truth lies in challenging
the system and there are not enough of
you to challenge the system, then you’re
going to be ostracised from the system
and retaliated against- if you’re a player
in the system.
M: I’ve certainly seen that. I know quite a
few lawyers/social workers who will talk
privately about their concerns of the
family court but they would not voice it
publically, for fear of it having a
detrimental impact on their livelihood, on
it having an effect on decision making in
the courtroom.
Making The Invisible Visible