Court-Sanctioned Violence: The Experiences of Self-Represented Victim-Survivors of Family Violence and Coercive Control in Ontario Family Law Courts

“Court-Sanctioned Violence” examines how Ontario’s family law system often fails to protect self-represented women who are victim-survivors of intimate partner violence, family violence, and/or coercive control. Drawing from academic research, legal theory, case law, and an interview with a frontline caseworker, the paper addresses SRLs’ unique vulnerability to legal systems abuse, where the courtroom and legal procedures enable abusers to continue harassing their victims. The findings highlight how structural and procedural barriers intersect with gendered myths about motherhood, victimhood, and credibility. The paper calls for mandatory education on coercive control for legal professionals, better public legal education, and a reevaluation of family law practices that demand retraumatizing labour from survivors. Ultimately, it urges systemic change to ensure family courts can be spaces that recognize and respond to post-separation abuse, rather than perpetuate it. This report was produced by Clarissa Chan in conjunction with the National Self-Represented Litigants Project as part of the Trinity College Community Research Partnerships in Ethics course at the University of Toronto.