Survivors of domestic abuse are being retraumatised by the very system meant to protect them, according to a major new study commissioned by Women’s Aid and conducted by Trinity College Dublin and University College Cork. Drawing on the experiences of over 400 survivors, the research paints a grim picture of Ireland’s family court system—one that too often overlooks ongoing abuse, fails to prioritise safety, and reinforces coercive control through legal processes.
“It is one of the worst things I’ve ever been through. Ever,” one survivor reported. “I sometimes put it down as worse than some of the things that he did, because of what resulted from it.”
A Stage for the Abuse to Continue
Describing their time in family law proceedings, survivors used words like “relentless,” “horrific,” and “retraumatising.” In many cases, the abuse didn’t end with separation—it evolved. The court process, rather than offering relief, became a new battleground where abusers weaponised the legal system to maintain control.
“It’s essentially a stage for the abuse to continue,” one survivor in the study shared.
According to the report, 92% of survivors said the abuse either began or worsened after separation and during court proceedings. Patterns of coercive control, emotional abuse, and financial abuse frequently escalated during this period. Victims described being manipulated through repeat summons, adjournments, and court-ordered access that enabled intimidation.
Court-Ordered Contact as a Tool of Coercive Control
A central finding was that court-ordered access often put survivors and their children in harm’s way. In trying to comply with legal requirements, victims were forced into ongoing contact with their abuser—what Women’s Aid called “court-sanctioned opportunities for further abuse.”
Sarah Benson, CEO of Women’s Aid, said on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland that survivors were being “required to regularly engage with their abuser,” sometimes leading to fresh harm or trauma. She added that this reflected a “completely inadequate” system that assumes abuse ends once a relationship does.
Parental Alienation Accusations Undermine Protective Parents
A troubling theme was the widespread misuse of the term parental alienation, often weaponised against protective parents—primarily mothers—who raised safety concerns. Instead of their fears being acknowledged, they were accused of manipulating their children or undermining the father’s role.
The research found that in many cases, judges and assessors failed to meaningfully consider the possibility of domestic abuse, instead accepting parental alienation claims without sufficient scrutiny. As Benson stated to RTÉ, “this was especially evident in the reported experiences of court-appointed assessors,” who often lacked adequate training in recognising coercive control or post-separation abuse.
The report found that children’s views were frequently dismissed or ignored altogether. Many expressed fear about visits with the abusive parent, yet their perspectives were sidelined.
Despite expressing discomfort, many children were compelled to maintain contact due to court mandates. Survivors said their children felt unsafe and unheard, reinforcing the perception that the family law process prioritised the rights of the perpetrator over the wellbeing of victims.
A Call for Urgent Reform in Family Law
The new research exposes a family law system out of step with the reality of domestic abuse. A significant proportion of cases involve ongoing abuse, yet professionals across the system—from judges to legal practitioners—are often unequipped to recognise or respond to it.
Sarah Benson noted, “What we are particularly appalled by is the finding that adult victim-survivors of domestic abuse navigating the system for matters of guardianship, custody, and access describe the experience as relentless, overwhelmingly negative and retraumatising, with some saying that it became ‘even worse than the abuse’.” [via The Journal].
Women’s Aid is calling for a domestic abuse-informed overhaul of Ireland’s family justice system. This includes mandatory training in coercive control, improved legal representation, and a shift away from blanket assumptions that separation ends the abuse.
Experts Demand a Domestic Abuse-Informed Justice System
Professor Stephanie Holt of Trinity College, the lead researcher on the report, described the family court system as “fundamentally flawed” in its response to abuse. She called for systemic reform that places the safety and voices of both adult and child survivors at the centre of legal decision-making.
As pressure mounts, the Department of Justice has reaffirmed its commitment to reform through the Family Justice Strategy 2022–2025 and the Family Courts Act 2024. But campaigners stress that unless those reforms are deeply informed by the lived realities of domestic abuse survivors, the system will continue to retraumatise those it should be protecting.
Featured image: Family law courts are failing domestic abuse victims. Source: IBEX.Media / Adobe Stock.
