What is coercive control and how does the family court treat it

Coercive control is a pattern of repeated or continuous behaviour by someone you're personally connected to — a partner, ex-partner, or family member — that has a serious effect on your day-to-day life. It became a specific criminal offence in England and Wales under section 76 of the Serious Crime Act 2015, recognising that domestic abuse doesn't need to be physically violent to be genuinely harmful and controlling.

What does the law actually require to prove coercive control?

For behaviour to meet the legal threshold under section 76, it generally needs to show:

1. A pattern of repeated or continuous behaviour — not a single incident.
2. The behaviour caused you to fear, on at least two occasions, that violence would be used against you, OR caused serious alarm or distress that had a substantial effect on your usual day-to-day activities.
3. You and the person were "personally connected" at the time — this covers intimate partners, former partners, and family members, and no longer requires that you lived together.
4. A reasonable person would have known the behaviour would have this effect on someone in your position.

The offence can be tried in a magistrates' court or the Crown Court, and carries a maximum sentence of five years' imprisonment, a fine, or both.

What does coercive control actually look like in practice?

There's no single fixed list, but recognised patterns include:

1. Isolating you from friends, family, or other sources of support.
2. Monitoring your time, movements, or communications, including through technology.
3. Controlling your access to money, or your ability to work or study.
4. Regulating your everyday behaviour — what you wear, eat, or how you spend your time.
5. Repeated threats, whether directed at you, your children, or people close to you.
6. Degrading or humiliating you, privately or in front of others.

Coercive control is frequently harder to identify than physical abuse, both for the person experiencing it and for professionals involved in a case, because individual incidents can seem unremarkable when looked at in isolation. It's the cumulative pattern over time that matters.

How does the family court treat coercive control differently from a criminal court?

The family court applies a lower standard of proof — the balance of probabilities, meaning "more likely than not" — rather than the criminal standard of beyond reasonable doubt used in a criminal prosecution. This means the family court can, and often does, make findings about coercive control even where there's been no criminal conviction, or even where the matter was never reported to the police at all.

How does an allegation of coercive control get decided in family proceedings?

If coercive control is alleged as part of a child arrangements or financial remedy case, the court may hold a fact-finding hearing — a dedicated hearing where the court hears evidence specifically about the disputed allegations and decides, on the balance of probabilities, what actually happened, before moving on to decide the substantive issue in the case, such as contact arrangements.

1. You'll usually be asked to set out your allegations clearly, sometimes in a structured format called a Scott Schedule, though courts have increasingly recognised that this format doesn't always capture a pattern of coercive control well, since it tends to isolate individual incidents rather than showing the cumulative picture.
2. The court will consider all relevant evidence, including your account, any messages or records, and evidence from third parties such as GPs or support services.
3. Special protections can apply during the hearing itself — see our guide on can my abuser cross-examine me directly in court for the rules banning direct cross-examination by an alleged abuser.

What difference does a finding of coercive control make to a child arrangements case?

If the court finds that coercive control has occurred, this becomes an important part of how it assesses what contact and living arrangements are genuinely safe and in the child's best interests — coercive control doesn't need to have been directed at the child themselves to be relevant, since children are affected by witnessing or living within a controlling relationship. It can also be directly relevant to allegations of alienating behaviours — see our guide on what is parental alienation and how does the family court respond — since the Family Justice Council's guidance is explicit that genuine domestic abuse, including coercive control, must be properly distinguished from a parent's alienating conduct, and considered first.

Does coercive control affect legal aid eligibility?

Yes — evidence of coercive control is one of the recognised categories of domestic abuse evidence for legal aid purposes. See our guide on can I get legal aid for a family court case for the full list of accepted evidence, which includes things like a GP letter, a report from a domestic abuse support service, or an existing protective order.

What if I'm not sure whether what I've experienced counts as coercive control?

You don't need to have a legal label for your experience before seeking help or raising it with the court. If a pattern of behaviour has made you afraid, or has seriously affected your day-to-day life, that's worth taking seriously and discussing with a solicitor, a domestic abuse support service, or through the court process — the legal definition exists to describe experiences many people already recognise, not to set an impossibly high bar before anyone will listen.

Understanding whether your situation fits this pattern, and how to explain it clearly to the court, is genuinely hard to do alone. Access to Justice is built for exactly this — it helps you understand what the court needs to see and prepare your account clearly. Try it free.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a criminal conviction for coercive control before the family court will take it seriously?

No. The family court applies a different, lower standard of proof — the balance of probabilities — and can make its own findings based on the evidence before it, entirely independently of any criminal process. It can make findings even where the matter was never reported to the police at all.

Does coercive control have to include physical violence?

No — this is central to why the offence exists. Coercive control specifically recognises non-physical patterns of control, isolation, and psychological harm as serious in their own right. Recognised patterns include isolating you from support, monitoring your time, movements or communications, and controlling your access to money or your ability to work.

Can coercive control happen after a relationship has ended?

Yes. The requirement that you must have been living together was removed, specifically to recognise that coercive and controlling behaviour, including from an ex-partner or family member, can continue or even escalate after separation. The law covers intimate partners, former partners, and family members you are personally connected to.

What if the behaviour was directed at me but our children weren't directly involved?

It can still be highly relevant to a family court case, because the court considers the impact on children of living within, or witnessing, a controlling relationship, not just behaviour directed at them personally. If the court finds coercive control has occurred, this shapes how it assesses what contact and living arrangements are genuinely safe.

How do I start gathering evidence if I think I've experienced coercive control?

Keeping a dated record of incidents, saving relevant messages, and speaking to a GP or a domestic abuse support service are all good starting points — a support service can also help you understand what evidence is genuinely useful for a legal aid application or court case.

Is coercive control the same thing as controlling behaviour that doesn't meet the legal threshold?

Not necessarily — the legal offence has specific requirements, including a pattern and a serious effect on your daily life. But behaviour doesn't need to meet the criminal threshold to be relevant and taken seriously within family court proceedings, which use a different, lower standard.

Can allegations of coercive control affect a financial remedy case, not just child arrangements?

It can be relevant, particularly around legal aid eligibility and safety arrangements at hearings, though it doesn't usually change the core financial factors the court considers when dividing assets. Evidence of coercive control is one of the recognised categories of domestic abuse evidence for legal aid purposes.

This article provides legal information about coercive control and how it is treated in family court proceedings in England and Wales. It does not constitute legal advice. For advice about your specific situation, speak to a qualified solicitor.