Growing numbers of domestic violence victims are being quizzed by their former partners in court due to cuts in legal aid which have led to a rise in litigation-in-person cases, family law specialists are warning. Emma Pearmaine, a family law specialist at Simpson Millar and director of the Leed's Law Society, said: ‘The number of women being cross-examined by abusive ex-partners in court has doubled in my experience since 2013. Judges do their best to step in and control cross-examination situations where it is a case for an injunction, or non-molestation order, for example, but they should be there to adjudicate on the case – not manage behaviour as a priority. These women are some of the most vulnerable in society and they now have no real protection. They are let down from start to finish. They suffer abuse at home then, torment from their abuser in court. For them there is no sense of justice.'