For most of the legal history of this country, the only kind of abuse a divorce court took seriously was the kind that left a mark. Bruises, broken bones, a police report. If your spouse cut off your access to money, isolated you from your family, monitored your phone, or used threats to control your daily decisions, the law generally shrugged.
Connecticut changed that in 2021. Public Act 21-78 — known as Jennifer’s Law, after Jennifer Dulos and Jennifer Magnano — expanded the legal definition of domestic violence in Connecticut to include coercive control. It is one of the most significant updates to family law this state has seen in a generation, and many people going through a divorce still do not know it exists.
What Jennifer’s Law Changed
Before Jennifer’s Law, a Connecticut civil restraining order required a showing of “continuous threat of present physical pain or injury, stalking, or a pattern of threatening.” That standard left a huge category of real abuse outside the law’s reach. Jennifer’s Law amended Conn. Gen. Stat. § 46b-1 and Conn. Gen. Stat. § 46b-15 to add coercive control as a freestanding basis for a restraining order — and to make clear that coercive control is itself a form of family violence.
The statute defines coercive control as a pattern of behavior that unreasonably interferes with a person’s free will and personal liberty. Importantly, it does not require any physical violence at all.
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Schedule a consultation by calling (860) 357-9158
What Coercive Control Actually Looks Like
In the cases we have handled across West Hartford, Glastonbury, Middletown, Torrington, and Bristol, coercive control rarely looks like a single dramatic event. It looks like a pattern, often built up over years, that adds up to a spouse who has lost the ability to make independent decisions. The statute itself lists examples, and they include:
Isolating the other party from friends, family, or sources of support.
Controlling, regulating, or monitoring movements, communications, daily behavior, finances, economic resources, or access to services.
Compelling someone by force, threat, or intimidation to engage in conduct from which they have a right to abstain — or to abstain from conduct in which they have a right to engage.
Committing or threatening to commit cruelty against the person, their family, their household members, or their pets.
Forced sex acts, or threats of a sexual nature, including the threat to disclose intimate images.
Threatening to harm the other party’s immigration status.
The common thread is the pattern, and the result: one adult using a sustained set of tactics to override another adult’s ability to live their own life.
How It Comes Up in Divorce Cases
Coercive control matters in a Connecticut divorce in three different places. First, it is a basis for a civil restraining order — sometimes the most urgent step in a case where one spouse has been controlling the finances, the phone, the car, the children’s schedules, or the immigration paperwork. Second, it can be relevant to child custody. Connecticut courts must consider the safety and well-being of the child, including any history of family violence. A documented pattern of coercive control by one parent can change how the court structures legal and physical custody.
Third, it can show up in property division and alimony. Connecticut judges weigh “the causes for the dissolution of the marriage” as one of the statutory factors. While no-fault grounds are by far the most common, conduct that rises to coercive control can — and often does — affect the equities.
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Restraining Orders Under Jennifer’s Law
If you are experiencing coercive control, you can apply for a civil restraining order in the Superior Court for the judicial district where you live. The Connecticut Judicial Branch publishes the application forms and instructions on its website. If the court finds reasonable grounds, it can issue an ex parte order the same day and set a hearing within 14 days. At that hearing, the order can be extended for up to one year (or longer in certain circumstances).
A Jennifer’s Law restraining order can do more than just order the other party to stay away. It can order them out of a shared home, restrict contact, address custody and visitation, address use of a vehicle, and address pets. For a spouse who has been controlled financially, the order can also restrict the transfer or sale of assets while the case is pending.
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What to Do If You’re Experiencing Coercive Control
The single most useful thing you can do is start writing things down. Coercive control cases are built on patterns, and patterns require documentation. Keep a written log with dates and specifics. Save text messages and emails. Identify witnesses — friends, family, coworkers — who saw or heard the relevant conduct. If money has been controlled, gather what bank and credit card records you can access safely.
Then talk to an attorney. These cases can be delicate, particularly the question of when and how to file. A Connecticut family law attorney who handles Jennifer’s Law matters can help you decide whether a restraining order is the right opening move or whether the case is better positioned through the divorce itself, and can help you do so in a way that keeps you and your children safe.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is coercive control under Connecticut law?
Coercive control is a pattern of behavior that unreasonably interferes with another person’s free will and personal liberty. Under Jennifer’s Law, examples include isolating a spouse from support, monitoring or controlling their finances and communications, threatening cruelty to family or pets, and threatening immigration status.
Can I get a Connecticut restraining order without physical violence?
Yes. Since Jennifer’s Law took effect in 2021, coercive control is a freestanding basis for a civil restraining order in Connecticut under Conn. Gen. Stat. § 46b-15. Physical violence is no longer required.
How does Jennifer’s Law affect a Connecticut divorce or custody case?
Jennifer’s Law matters in three ways: it expands the grounds for restraining orders, it broadens what counts as family violence for custody decisions, and it can be relevant to the equitable distribution and alimony analysis as part of the “causes for the dissolution of the marriage” factor.
What evidence do I need to prove coercive control?
Coercive control is proven by a pattern, not a single incident. Useful evidence includes a written log of dates and incidents, text messages and emails, bank and credit card records showing financial control, testimony from friends, family, or coworkers, and any prior police reports or medical records.
Final Word
Jennifer’s Law is one of the most important tools Connecticut has given families in years, and it is still under-used. If you recognize any part of your own life in the description of coercive control above, please know that the law sees it now in a way it did not five years ago — and that you have real options. You do not have to wait for a bruise to ask for help.
If you are experiencing coercive control or any form of family violence, you do not have to navigate it alone. Rich Rochlin and our team help Connecticut clients use Jennifer’s Law and the family courts to protect themselves and their children. Call (860) 357-9158 to schedule a confidential consultation. Offices in West Hartford, Glastonbury, Torrington, Middletown, and Bristol.
Let us help navigate your family legal matters — schedule your consultation now.
Let us help navigate your family legal matters schedule your consultation now.
