Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps her Department is taking to account for the consequences of coercive control in divorce court (a) proceedings and (b) decisions.

It is a top priority for this Government to tackle violence against women and girls, including economic abuse and coercive control. The Law Commission’s 2024 scoping report on financial remedies on divorce considered the issue of domestic abuse, including economic abuse and coercive control, in relation to financial proceedings on divorce and the decisions made by the courts. The Government is carefully considering the report’s findings and will provide a response in due course.