What can you expect? If you have applied for a protection order and have been asked to attend a hearing, you may be feeling anxious. It may be your first experience of a court hearing, and it may seem daunting. If you are threatened by your partner, you are already feeling vulnerable and unsafe. Going […]
Your husband’s behaviour is entirely his own fault – but before you take any action, ring a helpline for advice This article appeared recently in an advice column in a UK newspaper. It is heart-rending, and a sad real-life illustration of the challenges women face leaving an abusive marriage or relationship. We wrote a series […]
Dark empath vs. narcissist We’ve written a lot about narcissism on this blog, because as family lawyers we see a lot of survivors of narcissistic relationships. Narcissism as a trait is unfortunately not uncommon, and can cause a lot of damage to the individual in a relationship with a narcissist. There’s another type of person […]
Recognising and coping with a narcissistic partner As we embark on 16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children, I want to reflect on a type of abuse that is often hidden or not recognised as abuse: narcissistic abuse. Narcissistic abuse may involve physical violence but is predominantly a form of emotional […]
I think my friend’s husband is emotionally abusing her. Should I talk to her about it? We’ve written a lot about narcissistic abuse, coercive control, and emotional abuse by partners. This letter to an advice column highlights a real-life example of emotional abuse by partners, raised by someone with deep concerns about her friend’s situation. […]
Can spouses evict one another from the marital home? Can one spouse evict the other from the matrimonial home? No. A spouse is not a tenant, even if the marriage is out of community of property and one spouse owns the home outright. Spouses have a duty of support to each other which includes the […]
Reprinted from the Guardian, by Anna Moore – 2022-05-09 Can men who assault or intimidate their partners be taught to respect women? We talk to campaigners and perpetrators – and sit in on one of their classes In this Zoom call, four men are looking at a list of family duties and marking which they […]
If you haven’t watched The Tinder Swindler on Netflix yet, you are in the minority. It is the runaway streaming sensation of the year so far, reaching no. 1 in 92 countries, including South Africa. While it’s easy to say, “how could those women be so stupid?”, the reality is that women…and men…are defrauded emotionally […]
