Coercive Control and Family Courts w/ Carrie Leonetti 7 August, 2024.mp3

New Zealand’s family violence act officially took effect on the 1st of July 2019. The act reformed previous legislation released in 2018 to update the definition of family violence and include references to controlling and coercive behaviour. 

However, while certain coercive and controlling behaviours in abusive relationships are criminalised and covered by New Zealand law, coercive control itself is not illegal, with family courts in Aotearoa often failing to prosecute those responsible for coercion and non-physical forms of abuse in family violence situations.

Oto spoke to Carrie Leonetti, associate professor in the Faculty of Law at the University of Auckland, to discuss how Family courts in Aotearoa often fail to properly address coercive and controlling behaviours.