Family Law Court Overhaul announced by the Government 25/06/2020, FatherlessBritain
Government overhaul report by Emma Ailes, the BBC from FatherlessBritain.
The Government have announced what they call, sweeping reforms, a major overall of the family courts to better protect victims of domestic violence.
The announcement comes after a review into how the family courts operate, after an investigation by BBC reporter Emma Ailes.
Particularly when a judge is deciding contact between a parent and a child.
The review was looking into whether victims in domestic abuse, were being properly protected in cases that came before the family courts. And in particular when a judge is deciding contact between a parent and a child.
In this report on the Victoria Derbyshire show aired back in 2019. It discovered that at least four children had been killed by a parent with a known history of domestic abuse, all within the space of five years, that being after a court had granted contact.
We also heard of cases of individuals that who have been convicted in criminal a courts including cases of rape, violent offences and even child sex abuse, and these parents were granted unsupervised overnight contact with their children.
After this investigation, the Government then announced this review.
The review highlighted concerns that abuses had been systematically minimised, and allegations had been ignored, dismissed or disbelieved in the family courts.
It also heard criticisms of what it called a pro contact culture, that being presumption of equal shared parental responsibility. So, courts unduly prioritising contact between a parent and a child, and in some cases the perpetrators of abuse being given unrestricted access to children.
It also described an adversarial system, where parents are pitted against each other in court including in cases where there are allegations of domestic abuse. And parents unrepresented as legal aid often isn’t always available in the family court.
The report also highlighted where parents were often trying to report allegations of ongoing domestic abuse by a perpetrator. These were often dismissed by professionals in the field.
So, the Government has introduced, what it calls sweeping reforms.
It also bans cross examination from the perpetrators and victims.
Also recommended in this review was further powers to the judges in the form of barring orders, which will stop perpetrators repeatedly taking ex-partners back to court.
This review has been welcomed by many working in the domestic abuse field including, the family courts most senior judge, Sir Andrew McFarlane.
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