Traditionally, a 209A or an abuse protection, order was intended to protect the filing party (i.e. the plaintiff) from situations where the other party (i.e. the defendant)
- Harmed or attempted to harm the plaintiff physically;
- Put the plaintiff in fear of imminent serious physical harm; or
- Caused the plaintiff to engage in sexual relations involuntarily by using force, threat or duress.
If the plaintiff could prove to the presiding Judge, by a preponderance of the evidence, that it was more likely than not that the foregoing occurred, a 209A order would be issued and could be extended for up to one year. In recent years, as courts become more knowledgeable about mental health and the impact of emotional abuse, victims of mental and/or emotional abuse are coming forward to seek assistance from the courts. As a result, the Massachusetts legislature has expanded what qualifies as abuse under a 209A order. Coercive control is now included as abuse under the statute.
What is Coercive Control?
Coercive Control is either
(a) A pattern of behavior…
(b) A single act…
intended to threaten, intimidate, harass, isolate, control, coerce or compel compliance of a family or household member that causes that family or household member to reasonably fear physical harm or have a reduced sense of physical safety or autonomy
(a) The Pattern of Behavior
The statute doesn’t specify how many times a behavior needs to occur to constitute a pattern of coercive control. At minimum the behavior would have to occur twice; however, many would argue that the behavior must occur no less than three times as is similar with 58A orders (Harassment Prevention orders).
The following are the type of behavior patterns the statute is intended to include:
- isolating the family or household member from friends, relatives or other sources of support;
- depriving the family or household member of basic needs;
- controlling, regulating or monitoring the family or household member’s activities, communications, movements, finances, economic resources or access to services, including through technological means;
- compelling a family or household member to abstain from or engage in a specific behavior or activity, including engaging in criminal activity;
- threatening to harm a child or relative of the family or household member;
- threatening to commit cruelty or abuse to an animal connected to the family or household member;
- intentionally damaging property belonging to the family or household member;
- threatening to publish sensitive personal information relating to the family or household member, including sexually explicit images; or
- using repeated court actions found by a court not to be warranted by existing law or good faith argument
(b) A Single Act
The statue also outlines the instances where the Plaintiff would only need to present one act of coercive control to have a 209A order issued:
- harming or attempting to harm a child or relative of the family or household member;
- committing or attempting to commit abuse to an animal connected to the family or household member; or
- publishing or attempting to publish sexually explicit images of the family or household member.
The term “coercive control” includes a broad scope of behaviors, some of which are clearly defined, others, less so. The statute was changed only recently, and it remains to be tested anddefined by the higher state courts. When these behaviors occur, and terms like abuse, gas-lightedor narcissist are thrown around, it can often result in he said/she said situations. This makes it paramount for potential Plaintiffs and Defendants to seek an attorney who has a strong understanding of coercive control.
As new as the expanded statute is, we at Davis Law Group have seen numerous of these coercive control cases and have the knowledge and experience necessary to capitalize on the expanded language and use its many ambiguities to the advantage of our clients.
Most importantly, if you or someone you love is thinking of filing a 209A order or must defend against one call our office and schedule a consultation today.