From domestic violence to coercive control: Towards the recognition of oppressive intimacy in the family court

Domestic violence is a gendered pattern of interaction that is increasingly viewed as a serious problem in Aotearoa New Zealand. However, a tendency to rely on the domestic violence paradigm (Stark, 2007) means that physical violence, rather than coercive control, is often seen as the defining feature of oppressive family relationships. Through an in-depth examination of a case study selected from 32 interviews collected as part of two projects on postseparation care arrangements, this article investigates the value of coercive control for redefining the aggressive pursuit by controlling fathers' of 50:50 shared care as a pattern of paper abuse (Miller & Smolter, 2011).