Help with post-separation coercive control | Letters

Police and social services can be unwittingly manipulated into becoming part of the abuse suffered by some mothers, writes Annie Moon of the charity Mums in Need

Thank you for publishing this article during October’s Domestic Violence Awareness Month (Paul and Jack were murdered by their abusive father. Why had the family courts granted him contact?, 1 October). I’m a trustee for Mums In Need, a charity supporting mothers in Sheffield affected by post-separation coercive control. So much of what you’ve said in this article reflects the stories that we hear from our service users.

Domestic abuse can start after separation or be a continuation of what happened during the relationship. It’s about maintaining control, and usually there are two ways of doing this – through money (economic abuse, eg maintenance) and the children (eg contact via the family courts). In this scenario, the perpetrators have a new raft of tools at their disposal and other services – police, family law, education, social services, health – are often unwittingly manipulated into becoming part of the abuse picture.

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