October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and we're dedicating this episode to a critical, yet often unseen, aspect of abuse: coercive control and its devastating financial aftermath.

While the UK and Spain have introduced progressive laws—the UK's Controlling or Coercive Behaviour offence (Serious Crime Act 2015) and Spain's pioneering gender violence legislation (Law 1/2004)—recognising psychological manipulation as a severe form of abuse, the gap between the law's intent and practical use is huge.

In this episode, your host shares her five-year survivor's ordeal navigating legal intimidation and litigation abuse within the Spanish system. Exposes how an abuser's financial power and flawed judicial ruling can lead to re-victimisation and poverty, as civil property laws often override the safety and welfare mandated by gender violence legislation.

Key Takeaways

Coercive Control is a Pattern, Not an Incident: Effective prosecution requires proving a "course of conduct"—a sustained pattern of psychological and financial abuse. When the justice system reduces a long-term pattern of control to a single, minor offence, it allows the severe abuse to escape proper classification.

Financial Power Weaponises the Law: Abusers use litigation abuse (legal bullying) in civil courts to continue control post-separation. Financially powerful perpetrators can overwhelm survivors, forcing them into resource-intensive legal battles where courts prioritise property rights over the underlying context of gender violence.

The Systemic Failure to Implement Law: Both the UK and Spanish legal systems struggle with low conviction rates. This stems from a lack of in-depth professional training for police, prosecutors, and judges on coercive control theory. This failure grants abusers impunity while leaving survivors broken and often destitute.

The Necessity of Documentation: Since perpetrators often leave no physical evidence, gathering comprehensive evidence is crucial. The survivor documented their journey using emails, texts, and diary entries to highlight the gaps and failures in the system.

Best Moments

"The UK law was introduced to fill a *gap in the legal system**. Campaigners... argued that [traditional laws] failed to capture the insidious, sustained pattern of non-physical abuse that defines coercive control."

"My experience highlights the gap between the law’s intent and its real-world impact. While the law itself was a huge step, its practical implementation has faced significant challenges."

"The legal system (particularly the civil courts) often defaults to traditional interpretations of property rights and financial contracts over the survivor’s welfare and safety mandated by the 2004 law."

"For the survivor, the process itself... becomes a devastating act of state-sanctioned re-victimisation."

Resources

If you are experiencing institutional sexist violence, the Observatory of Institutional Gender Violence Against Women (OVIM) provides a channel to document cases and stories anonymously.

For more information on coercive control, consult organisations like Women’s Aid and Refuge (UK), and SEA Surviving Economic Abuse.