New Laws Target Post-Separation Abuse to Protect Survivors

Legal Push to Criminalise Post-Separation Abuse Gains Urgent Momentum

A new push is underway to criminalise post-separation abuse, a pattern of coercive behaviour that persists even after victims leave abusive relationships. Experts argue that current laws fail to protect survivors, leaving them vulnerable to ongoing harassment, stalking, and manipulation through legal and institutional systems. Post-separation abuse takes many forms, including threats, isolation, false accusations, and the weaponisation of children or legal processes. Abusers often exploit gaps in the system, using tactics like discrediting victims with claims of 'parental alienation'—a strategy experts say lacks scientific backing. These actions extend control long after a relationship ends, trapping survivors in cycles of fear and instability.

In a recent *The Lancet* publication, researchers Jennifer J. Prah and Lawrence O. Gostin outlined urgent reforms. Their proposals include mandatory risk assessments for post-separation violence, specialised trauma-informed courts with trained judges, and no-contact orders enforceable across regions. They also call for expanded funding for secure housing, counselling, and legal support to shield victims from further harm. Health professionals play a key role in identifying abuse, but the authors stress that collaboration is critical. By working with child protection workers, lawyers, and judges, they can help design and enforce stronger protection orders. The goal is to close legal loopholes that abusers exploit, ensuring systems no longer enable continued harm. The reforms aim to recognise post-separation abuse as a distinct crime under domestic violence laws. This would allow courts to issue targeted protection orders and hold perpetrators accountable through clearer legal consequences.

If adopted, these changes would provide survivors with stronger legal safeguards and practical support. The proposed measures also seek to prevent abusers from manipulating courts, social services, or child custody processes. Without such reforms, experts warn, many women and children will remain at risk long after escaping abusive partners.