Domestic Abuse, Coercive Control and Family Justice Around the World

PRESS REPOSITORY™

Domestic Abuse, Coercive Control and Family Justice Around the World

Different Laws. Different Courts. The Same Governance Questions.

By Samantha Avril-Andreassen, LLB (Hons), LLM, LPC, FRSA
Founder, SAFECHAIN™

Family justice is changing across the world.

Over the past decade, governments across every continent have introduced new legislation, specialist courts, domestic abuse strategies, child protection reforms, coercive control offences, safeguarding guidance and judicial training.

From England and Wales to Canada.

From Australia to New Zealand.

From Brazil to South Africa.

From the United Arab Emirates to wider Asia.

The legal systems are different.

The constitutions are different.

The court structures are different.

The cultures are different.

Yet one striking pattern continues to emerge.

The same concerns continue to be raised by survivors, judges, academics, practitioners, domestic abuse organisations and policy makers.

The language changes.

The legal framework changes.

But the governance questions remain remarkably similar.

A Global Pattern

Across jurisdictions, recurring themes appear again and again.

Family courts continue to face challenges in:

• recognising coercive control beyond physical violence;

• identifying economic abuse;

• distinguishing conflict from abuse;

• understanding post-separation coercion;

• protecting children exposed to domestic abuse;

• recognising cumulative behavioural patterns;

• supporting meaningful participation by vulnerable parties;

• coordinating safeguarding across multiple agencies;

• translating legal duties into practical protection.

No single jurisdiction has solved these issues completely.

Each has developed important reforms.

Each also continues to identify implementation challenges.

The Shift from Awareness to Capability

The global conversation is no longer centred on whether domestic abuse exists.

That question has largely been answered.

Modern legislation increasingly recognises:

• coercive control;

• psychological abuse;

• emotional abuse;

• financial abuse;

• post-separation abuse;

• child exposure to violence;

• patterns of domination rather than isolated incidents.

The challenge has moved elsewhere.

Recognition is becoming more consistent.

Implementation is not.

The critical question for every family justice system is now:

How do institutions consistently recognise, coordinate and respond to what the law already acknowledges?

Different Countries. Shared Challenges

The SAFECHAIN™ Global Governance Series examines these questions across multiple jurisdictions.

Each paper explores a different legal system while identifying common governance themes.

The series currently includes:

• United States – Intimate partner violence, custody litigation, post-separation abuse and behavioural assessment.

• Canada – Family violence, coercive control, child protection and implementation under the Divorce Act.

• Brazil – The Maria da Penha Law, specialised domestic violence courts and implementation capability.

• Australia – Family Law reform, coercive control, behavioural recognition and integrated safeguarding.

• New Zealand – Family Violence Act 2018, coordinated safeguarding and child safety.

• Asian Jurisdictions – Comparative lessons from India, Japan, the Philippines and wider regional developments.

• African Countries – Domestic abuse, legal pluralism, customary law, economic vulnerability and access to justice.

• United Arab Emirates and the Gulf Region – Family justice reform, expatriate families, child protection and institutional development.

Although these jurisdictions differ significantly, they reveal strikingly similar implementation challenges.

The Common Governance Gap

Across every jurisdiction examined, one recurring issue emerges.

Information frequently exists.

Evidence often exists.

Legislation increasingly exists.

Yet safeguarding action remains inconsistent.

This is not primarily an awareness problem.

It is an implementation problem.

Institutions frequently struggle to convert fragmented information into coordinated action.

Where responsibility is divided across courts, police, healthcare, education, housing, child protection, legal professionals and community organisations, accountability may become dispersed.

Everyone holds part of the picture.

No one necessarily owns the whole.

That is where governance becomes critical.

Why SAFECHAIN™

SAFECHAIN™ was developed to address this implementation gap.

Rather than proposing entirely new legal rights, SAFECHAIN™ focuses on strengthening the institutional capability required to implement existing duties consistently.

Its governance methodologies include:

• Participation Integrity™

• Recognition Intelligence™

• Disclosure Integrity™

• Behavioural Pattern Analysis™

• Child Safety Integrity™

• Economic Abuse Assessment™

• Litigation Abuse Assessment™

• Safeguarding Coordination Framework™

• Governance Intelligence™

• Institutional Accountability Mapping™

These frameworks are designed to complement existing legal systems rather than replace them.

They provide governance architecture capable of supporting consistent recognition, safeguarding, participation and accountability across different jurisdictions.

The Future of Family Justice

The next phase of family justice reform is unlikely to be driven solely by legislation.

Most developed jurisdictions already possess substantial legal frameworks addressing domestic abuse.

The challenge now lies in institutional performance.

How effectively do systems:

• recognise patterns of abuse?

• connect fragmented information?

• verify disclosure?

• support vulnerable participants?

• protect children?

• coordinate across agencies?

• measure safeguarding outcomes?

• ensure accountability?

These are governance questions.

And they are increasingly global questions.

Conclusion

Family justice systems around the world are moving in the same direction.

Recognition of domestic abuse is expanding.

Understanding of coercive control is improving.

Child protection is receiving greater attention.

The remaining challenge is implementation.

Different countries may take different legal routes.

But they are ultimately attempting to solve the same institutional problem:

How do we ensure that systems consistently recognise harm, protect the vulnerable, and deliver justice in practice—not merely in principle?

That question sits at the heart of the SAFECHAIN™ Global Governance Series.

It is also likely to define the next generation of family justice reform.

© 2026 Samantha Avril-Andreassen. All rights reserved.

SAFECHAINN Ltd (Company No. 12038453)

PRESS REPOSITORY™

This article accompanies the SAFECHAIN™ Global Governance Series examining comparative family justice systems and domestic abuse reforms across multiple international jurisdictions.