Government Ministers have announced that an expert panel will review how family courts protect children and parents in cases involving severe offences, including domestic abuse. The panel will investigate, make recommendations and report back on their findings in three months.
The three-month project is seeking evidence from the public on how the system might be improved, with the overarching aim of ensuring that the family court system functions in the specific interests of children. When considering the interests of the child, the project will consider elements such as safety and the child’s overall wellbeing.
The panel will be chaired by the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) and includes senior experts drawn from the judiciary, academia and the third sector.
The public call for evidence is seeking to engage with those with direct experience and involvement with the family courts and invites them to share their experience.
Why is the government reviewing the family courts?
The decision to implement the three-month project follows from responses received during the government's domestic abuse consultation process. A number of concerns were raised around the way in which the family courts responded to potential harm to children and victims. More specifically, some called for better protection for children in the family courts and raised concerns that abusers were using the court system to traumatise their victims.
Justice Minister Paul Maynard said:
'Some of the most vulnerable in our society come before the family courts, and I am absolutely determined that we offer them every protection.
This review will help us better understand victims’ experiences of the system, and make sure the family court is never used to coerce or re-traumatise those who have been abused.
Its findings will be used to inform the next steps so we can build on the raft of measures we have already introduced to protect victims of domestic abuse.’
The draft Domestic Abuse Bill, published in January 2019, includes measures to prevent abusers cross-examining their victims in the family courts. The government also announced £8 million of funding to support child victims and those affected by domestic abuse, as well as an additional £900,000 for organisations with staff trained to provide emotional and practical support to victims of domestic violence during, before and after family court hearings.
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