Australian Journal of Family Law, 2020, 33(3):

The article draws on interviews with 56 women (including 20 women from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds) to consider their experiences of legal representation after leaving a violent relationship. Women were recruited mainly from family violence support services, community legal centres and private lawyers. Common themes included that women who engaged private lawyers often faced significant costs and debt, proceedings were often commenced and prolonged by their abusive partner as an extension of coercive control, and high costs were experienced as a form of secondary abuse. Legal costs limited the financial security and options for some women post-separation and compounded their experience of family violence. Pressure to settle cases unfairly or unsafely was connected by some to the costs and limitations of legal representation. The article highlights the importance of consistent legal representation for women leaving violence and the need for appropriate training for lawyers working in this context. (Author's abstract). Record #8389