Paternity Fraud - A Form of Coercive Control That Demands Legal Recognition

By Michael Thompson, Founder of Paternity Fraud UK

For decades, paternity fraud has been primarily viewed through legal and financial lenses—focusing on child support payments, inheritance rights, and DNA testing. However, this narrow perspective fails to recognize a crucial truth: paternity deception is a devastating form of coercive control that warrants recognition and punishment as domestic abuse.

The Coercive Control Framework

In 2015, the UK took the groundbreaking step of criminalizing coercive control, acknowledging that domestic abuse extends beyond physical violence to include psychological manipulation and control. The legislation defines coercive control as patterns of behavior that strip away a victim's autonomy and sense of self.

Paternity deception fits squarely within this framework:

Systematic Deception: Like other forms of coercive control, paternity fraud involves calculated, ongoing deception that removes a person's right to make informed choices about their own life.

Power Imbalance: The deceiver maintains complete control over crucial information, creating a fundamental power disparity in the relationship.

Isolation Through Secrecy: Victims are isolated in their experience, often unable to discuss their situation with the child or extended family even after discovery.

Economic Abuse: Paternity fraud invariably involves financial exploitation, with victims providing resources under false pretenses—a recognized element of coercive control.

Long-term Psychological Impact: The trauma caused mirrors that seen in other forms of domestic abuse, including anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress.

The Gap in Legal Protection

Despite these parallels, our legal system continues to treat paternity fraud as a civil matter at best, and at worst, something victims should simply "move past." This represents a profound failure of justice.

When we examine the elements of coercive control that are already criminalized, the exclusion of paternity deception appears arbitrary and gendered. Consider:

- If someone systematically lied to control a partner's finances, it would be recognized as economic abuse

- If someone manipulated a partner's perception of reality over years, it would be recognized as gaslighting

- If someone coerced a partner into major life decisions under false pretenses, it would be recognized as controlling behavior

Yet when these exact patterns manifest in paternity deception, victims are left without recourse, told that their trauma is somehow less legitimate than other forms of psychological abuse.

The Call for Reform

At Paternity Fraud UK, we advocate for three crucial reforms:

1. Legal Recognition: Paternity fraud should be explicitly included in the legal definition of domestic abuse and coercive control, with appropriate criminal penalties.

2. Mandatory DNA Testing: Routine paternity testing at birth would prevent decades of deception and subsequent trauma.

3. Victim Support: Those who discover paternity deception should have access to the same support services offered to other victims of domestic abuse.

The Human Cost

Behind the statistics and legal arguments are real lives forever altered by this form of abuse. Men who discover paternity deception report the same feelings of violation, betrayal, and loss of control as victims of other forms of domestic abuse. Their trauma is compounded by a society that frequently dismisses their experience.

The children involved also suffer profound consequences when truth eventually emerges—as it increasingly does in our era of widespread genetic testing. By treating paternity fraud as the serious form of abuse it is, we protect not just deceived parents but also children who deserve relationships built on honesty.

Conclusion

The time has come to call paternity deception what it truly is: a form of coercive control and domestic abuse that warrants recognition under the law. By continuing to exclude this form of psychological abuse from our legal frameworks, we perpetuate the suffering of victims and send the message that some forms of deception and control are acceptable.

The principles of justice that led to the criminalization of coercive control must be applied consistently. Paternity fraud devastates lives through deliberate deception and the exploitation of trust—precisely the behaviors our domestic abuse legislation was designed to address.

Until we recognize paternity deception as the form of abuse it truly is, countless victims will continue to suffer without recognition, support, or justice.

If you've been affected by Paternity Fraud then visit www.paternityfrauduk.org or email paternityfrauduk@gmail.com to arrange a free and confidential call.

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