Emie WangSydney Sweeney's boxing biopic Christy began streaming in Australia on April 10, 2026, and with Euphoria Season 3 arriving on Australian screens this weekend, the actress is dominating search trends across the country. The film tells the story of Christy Martin — a champion boxer who survived years of abuse before her husband stabbed and shot her in 2010. It is a gripping story. It is also, according to Australian family lawyers, an opportunity to talk about something most Australians still don't fully understand: what the law actually does — and doesn't do — when someone is trapped in an abusive relationship.
What Christy Martin's Story Reflects in Australia
Christy Martin won 49 professional fights in the 1990s and was one of the most famous female athletes in the world. Her husband and manager, James Martin, was convicted in 2012 and sentenced to 25 years in prison for attempted murder after he stabbed her, shot her, and left her for dead in a Florida hotel room. She survived.
Australian viewers watching Sweeney's portrayal will recognise the pattern: the isolation, the financial control, the escalation, the barriers to leaving. The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare reports that 1 in 6 Australian women has experienced physical or sexual violence from a current or former partner. On average, one woman is killed by a partner or former partner every nine days in Australia.
The legal landscape in Australia has changed significantly since Christy Martin's case — and many Australians don't know what protections now exist.
The Coercive Control Laws That Didn't Exist a Decade Ago
One of the most significant recent developments in Australian domestic violence law is the criminalisation of coercive control — patterns of controlling behaviour that don't leave physical marks but systematically strip a person of their autonomy, finances, social connections, and self-determination.
Queensland became the first Australian state to criminalise coercive control in 2023, with the Domestic and Family Violence Protection (Combating Coercive Control) and Other Legislation Amendment Act. New South Wales followed with its Coercive Control (Domestic Relationship) Act 2022, which came into force in 2024. Other states and territories are progressing similar reforms.
This is a fundamental shift: in the past, many behaviours that family lawyers and domestic violence workers understood to be abusive were not actionable under the criminal law unless they escalated to physical violence. Today, in multiple Australian jurisdictions, the pattern itself is the offence.
Domestic Violence Orders: What They Do and What They Don't
Domestic Violence Orders (DVOs) — also called Apprehended Violence Orders (AVOs) in NSW, Family Violence Orders (FVOs) in the ACT, or Protection Orders in other states — are civil orders that prohibit a person from committing domestic violence against a named individual. They can be applied for by the person at risk, or by police on their behalf.
What a DVO can do:
- Prohibit the respondent from approaching or contacting the protected person
- Exclude the respondent from a shared home
- Restrict contact with children named in the order
- Impose conditions on where the respondent can go
What a DVO cannot do:
- Guarantee immediate physical safety if the respondent chooses to breach it
- Resolve property or financial entanglement
- Address the impact of coercive control that predated the order
- Automatically resolve family law proceedings involving children
Breaching a DVO is a criminal offence in all Australian states and territories, carrying penalties ranging from fines to imprisonment.
The Financial Trap: Economic Abuse and Its Legal Remedies
Films like Christy often focus on physical violence. Economic abuse — controlling a partner's access to money, preventing them from working, accumulating debts in their name, withholding financial information — is equally prevalent and has its own legal dimensions.
Family lawyers in Australia can help survivors of economic abuse seek remedies through property proceedings in the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia. Where a party has dissipated or hidden assets, courts have broad powers to make orders about the disclosure and division of property. Legal aid is available in every Australian state and territory for family law matters involving domestic violence.
If you have experienced economic abuse and are unsure of your legal rights, a family lawyer can provide a confidential initial assessment of your situation. Many law firms offer a first consultation at reduced cost or through legal aid.
What to Do If You or Someone You Know Needs Help
1800RESPECT (1800 737 732): Australia's national domestic, family, and sexual violence counselling service. Available 24 hours, 7 days. Free and confidential.
Emergency situations: Call 000. Police in all Australian jurisdictions have powers to issue emergency protection orders on the spot if they believe a person is at risk.
Legal advice: If you need to understand your legal options — DVOs, family law, property, custody — consult a family lawyer. On Expert Zoom, you can connect with accredited family lawyers across Australia who specialise in domestic violence matters, including coercive control cases.
Financial support: If economic abuse has left you without access to funds, Services Australia provides the Emergency Relief program and crisis payments. A financial counsellor can help you understand your entitlements.
Disclaimer: This article provides general legal information only and does not constitute legal advice. If you are in immediate danger, call 000. For confidential support, contact 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732.
Christy Martin survived. The legal framework that exists in Australia today — coercive control laws, DVOs, Family Court property protections — gives Australian survivors more options than existed even five years ago. The first step to accessing those options is understanding what they are.
