Sonja Ayeb-Karlsson

Victims’ experiences with family court specifically in relation to their mental and physical health. Two main themes are presented here:

1) physical and mental health experiences associated with family court proceedings, and

2) parental alienation allegations as a weapon to trap, silence, and pathologise mothers.

Domestic abuse is known to be harmful to victim-survivor mothers’ well-being, and women are disadvantaged by gender-biased systems in England. Less is known, however, about victims’ experiences with family court specifically in relation to their mental and physical health. This study begins to redress that balance.