days
hours minutes seconds
until
The 2024 General Election
A General Election will be taking place on July 4th, 2024.
Survivor Family Network is calling on representatives to commit to legal reform aimed at protecting survivors of domestic abuse and their children in private law family court proceedings. Parties should be unequivocally clear regarding these protections and must work towards providing these recommendations with a statutory footing.
In 2020, The Ministry of Justice’s 2020 Harm Panel Report highlighted that the family court and related professionals prioritise child contact with non-resident parents over the welfare of survivors of domestic abuse and their children. The report identified a range of harms including a culture of silencing victims, victim-blaming, a lack of understanding of domestic abuse by legal professionals, an increase in so-called “parental alienation” (PA) allegations and much more.
These issues have resulted in victims being forced to endure increased contact with their abusers, which often results in post-separation abuse, and in the most extreme cases it has resulted in the death of children at the hands of their abusive parent during court-mandated contact. The report recommended that this presumption of contact must be reviewed, but little progress has been made since.
Our Election Asks:
Banning the use of so-called “parental alienation” and similar terminology in family court proceedings
So-called PA syndrome was introduced by psychiatrist Richard Gardner in the 80s and involves the practice of one parent influencing their child to reject the other parent. This concept has been widely dismissed by organisations such as the United Nations and World Health Organisation and criticised as lacking an evidential basis. Furthermore, successive research has found that abusers often weaponise allegations of so-called PA during proceedings to discredit concerns about domestic abuse. Under the current system, such allegations have been allowed to run rampant and, in some cases, have resulted in children being removed from their protective parent to live with their abuser, or in care (Grey, 2023). This concept must be imminently banned, or more children and survivors will continue to face the risk of harm.
Preventing the courts from employing so-called “parental alienation” experts during proceedings
In the most extreme cases, the court’s pro-contact culture has resulted in children being removed from their protective parent, with PA “experts” playing a significant role in this. This is extremely concerning as there is currently no requirement in England and Wales for an expert to be monitored by a regulatory body such as the HCPC or BPS. This consequently enables these “experts” to make reports and recommendations to the court without the necessary qualifications. The law must be amended to ensure that any experts used in family court proceedings are regulated by the necessary governing bodies.
Repealing the statutory presumption of parental involvement
Under Section 1(2A) of the Children Act 1989, a court is to “presume, unless the contrary is shown, that involvement of that parent in the life of the child concerned will further the child’s welfare”. This presumption and how it has been interpreted by family court professionals has led to many women and children being trapped in a vicious cycle of abuse. The presumption was passed with little support and evidence collected following its enactment shows that it has not helped children (Right to Equality, 2024), thus it must be repealed.
Implementing mandatory, thorough, and ongoing domestic abuse training for family court professionals
Despite recent improvements in training for members of Cafcass and the judiciary, there is an identifiable lack of consistency in this training (Domestic Abuse Commissioner, 2023). This has contributed to and exacerbated the issues survivors face during proceedings, including a culture of victim-blaming and disbelief. New training must be mandatory, and ongoing and cover a range of important issues such as the nature of coercive control and how court proceedings may be weaponised to continue perpetrating domestic abuse.
Amplifying the voice of the mother and child during proceedings
During private law family court proceedings, the wishes and feelings of survivor mothers and children are often drowned out and misinterpreted if they fail to align with the prevailing pro-contact culture. To ensure that victims’ voices are heard, changes implemented should follow the Pathfinder Pilot process which focuses on gathering information as early as possible to make informed decisions. For example, in this process, a Child Impact Assessment is conducted which includes engagement with parents and key bodies such as the police and domestic abuse agencies. A comparison of the standard process, and the Pathfinder process can be found here.
