Personality Disorders and the Family Law System: It’s Time to Talk about Domestic Abuse Perpetrators
Tracks
Tamborine Gallery
| Thursday, December 2, 2021 |
| 1:46 PM - 2:06 PM |
Overview
Ms Caroline Parsons, Solo Legal
Speaker
Ms Caroline Parsons
Principal Lawyer
Solo Legal
Personality Disorders and the Family Law System: It’s Time to Talk about Domestic Abuse Perpetrators
Abstract
Recent research from the US suggests that many perpetrators of domestic abuse may suffer from, or possess traits, of anti-social personality disorder (“ASPD”) or narcissistic personality disorder (“NPD”). Many of the issues faced by participants in the family law system potentially arise from a lack of awareness of these two mental health conditions.
At the heart of both ASPD and NPD is a lack of empathy, as set out in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition. ASPD sufferers are often deceitful and manipulative and NPD leads to exaggeration and entitlement. These characteristics make it difficult to finalise property or parenting arrangements after separating from a disordered partner. This presentation will:
• explain how the police and family law system can be used by perpetrators of coercive control to further traumatize their estranged partners. In particular, the use of protection order cross-claims to intimidate partners who bring a primary protection order and the misuse of alternate dispute resolution mechanisms, such as mediation and negotiation, to delay justice and drain a target’s financial resources;
• offer solutions to reduce trauma (by minimizing contact with the perpetrator) and obtain an appropriate outcome as quickly as possible. For example, ensuring all correspondence is by email, filing in the discrete property list, seeking parenting orders through the Lighthouse Project and including a restraining order in the parenting orders (if the parent has concerns about the repercussions of filing a protection order); and
• provide practical strategic tips on how to conduct a family court hearing to reduce trauma and present evidence about the disordered party’s traits. Suggestions include obtaining an expert report about the perpetrator’s personality disorder and its impact on veracity, changing the order of evidence, reducing the impact of amygdala hijack in cross-examination and submissions on ability to co-parent.
3 Key Learnings:
1. There is a way to identify certain kinds of perpetrators of domestic abuse
2. Sometimes going to court is a useful way to achieve resolution with these types of abusers
3. Awareness brings a greater chance of protecting the targets of abuse and their children.
At the heart of both ASPD and NPD is a lack of empathy, as set out in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition. ASPD sufferers are often deceitful and manipulative and NPD leads to exaggeration and entitlement. These characteristics make it difficult to finalise property or parenting arrangements after separating from a disordered partner. This presentation will:
• explain how the police and family law system can be used by perpetrators of coercive control to further traumatize their estranged partners. In particular, the use of protection order cross-claims to intimidate partners who bring a primary protection order and the misuse of alternate dispute resolution mechanisms, such as mediation and negotiation, to delay justice and drain a target’s financial resources;
• offer solutions to reduce trauma (by minimizing contact with the perpetrator) and obtain an appropriate outcome as quickly as possible. For example, ensuring all correspondence is by email, filing in the discrete property list, seeking parenting orders through the Lighthouse Project and including a restraining order in the parenting orders (if the parent has concerns about the repercussions of filing a protection order); and
• provide practical strategic tips on how to conduct a family court hearing to reduce trauma and present evidence about the disordered party’s traits. Suggestions include obtaining an expert report about the perpetrator’s personality disorder and its impact on veracity, changing the order of evidence, reducing the impact of amygdala hijack in cross-examination and submissions on ability to co-parent.
3 Key Learnings:
1. There is a way to identify certain kinds of perpetrators of domestic abuse
2. Sometimes going to court is a useful way to achieve resolution with these types of abusers
3. Awareness brings a greater chance of protecting the targets of abuse and their children.
Biography
Caroline Parsons is a 20-year veteran of banking law who has worked in international investment banks and top-tier law firms in Sydney and London and a local bank in Abu Dhabi. Her own experience of domestic abuse led her to establish a family law firm, Solo Legal, on returning to Australia in 2019.
Caroline’s practice helps targets of psychological and emotional abuse navigate the often re-traumatising family law system. She firmly believes that the system isn’t broken, it just needs to understand perpetrators of coercive control in order to function effectively as a protector of the vulnerable.
