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Litigation Abuse

Email Hotline

August 22, 2025 | Return to REACH Hub
Ver la página en Español: Abuso del litigio

Domestic violence advocates often support survivors pursuing justice through the courts. Survivors may turn to the courts to seek protection for themselves and their families, validation of the harm they’ve suffered, and accountability for the abuser. This can happen through legal cases such as criminal prosecutions, civil lawsuits, restraining orders, divorces, child custody disputes, financial support proceedings, and more. However, the court process can also be re-traumatizing and pose a risk to survivor safety and well-being.

Abusive parties can also misuse the court system to continue exerting power and control. This is commonly known as “litigation abuse.” It can look like abusive parties:

  • petitioning for an order of protection against the survivor as a form of retaliation for having an order filed against them;
  • intentionally missing court dates to delay the case and disrupt the survivor’s daily living, affecting their financial, physical, and mental health; and
  • reporting false accusations against the survivor, which could result in the survivor being denied domestic violence services due to screening policies.

In some instances, survivors face the full weight of the legal system being turned against them. Abusive partners may manipulate the criminal legal system by wrongfully bringing charges against their victims. As a result, survivors become the defendant in a case and are treated as the “perpetrator” in court, facing the threat of a criminal record and even incarceration.

As a result of litigation abuse, a survivor can lose economic security because they had to take too much time off from work for court, while also having to pay any legal fees. Survivors may also be screened out of services if they have a criminal record or a protective order against them. The effects can even reach their children, putting them at risk of being separated from the protective parent.

In addition, litigation abuse may force survivors to engage in the court process before they are ready, putting them in the same space as their abusive partner and requiring them to disclose personal information they may not be ready to share. As such, survivors may find it difficult to maintain their physical and psychological safety in court.

Judges are not always trained to assess power and control dynamics, and the courts are not always well-equipped to address survivors’ concerns. Thankfully, that is changing with the development of specialized courts for cases of domestic violence. A national legal resource center, BWJP, is working to reform the civil and criminal legal systems that prevent domestic and dating violence, sexual assault, stalking, and human trafficking within families.

Everyone has a right to go to court and file cases, so litigation abuse can be hard to stop. However, more states are recognizing it and passing laws that can help survivors stop an abuser from filing court cases that are meant to harass the person and waste resources. To support service providers and survivors with the current system, the National Network to End Domestic Violence (NNEDV)’s WomensLaw project provides resources on litigation abuse and specific information for some states and tips on safety planning for court. Along with these pages, the WomensLaw Email Hotline is available, so survivors do not have to figure out their legal options on their own.