\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Yesterday (October 21st), the national domestic abuse charity Women\u2019s Aid and creative agency Hijinks, held a choir performance outside Parliament, heralding the momentous Ministry of Justice decision to have the legal presumption of parental involvement removed from child contact cases in family courts. The repeal follows a dedicated, decade-long campaign by Women\u2019s Aid, survivor ambassador Claire Throssell MBE, and many other survivors and sector partners, marking a major campaign win and a significant milestone on the road to keeping women and children safe.\u00a0 <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The decision to remove the presumption comes after the Government\u2019s own Harm Panel found that it was not fit for purpose and recommended that an \u2018<\/span>urgent<\/span>\u2019 review be conducted to address it, back in 2020. <\/span>Today’s long-awaited decision has ushered in a new era of hope for countless women and children who historically had the courts system weaponised by perpetrators as a means of continuing abuse. It also marks a significant shift in the \u2018pro-contact\u2019 culture that has, for so long, dominated family courts, and placed the \u2018rights\u2019 of abusive fathers over the safety and wellbeing of children.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Today\u2019s event is especially poignant, as it coincides with the anniversaries of the deaths of Jack and Paul, beloved sons to Claire Throssell MBE, Women\u2019s Aid survivor ambassador, whose deaths could have been prevented.\u00a0 In 2014, Jack, 12, and Paul, 9, were both killed by their father, despite Claire\u2019s warnings that he was a danger to them. Paul died on 22<\/span>nd<\/span>October 2014, and Jack on the 27<\/span>th<\/span> October 2014. Claire has since campaigned tirelessly with Women\u2019s Aid to stop unsafe child contact with dangerous perpetrators of domestic abuse.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Despite today\u2019s long-awaited and warmly welcomed decision, we must never forget Jack and Paul, as well as the many children who have been killed because of unsafe family court practices. In a bid to shine a light on their stories and to ensure that the culture in courts changes for good, Women\u2019s Aid brought a 19-child choir to Parliament.\u00a0 The choir represented the 19 preventable child homicides documented in the recent 19 More Child Homicides report, which found that <\/span>in the last 30 years, 67 children have been killed by a parent who was also a perpetrator of domestic abuse, in circumstances relating to unsafe child contact<\/span>. In their memory, Women\u2019s Aid is asking government to \u2018hear the children\u2019.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The performance began with the choir of children singing together, gradually fading until only one child\u2019s voice remained \u2013 symbolising how children\u2019s voices and experiences are so often silenced in the family courts. The event will be made into a short film to be published later this week to shine a spotlight on the often-unheard <\/span>children\u2019s experiences of domestic abuse, including coercive control, and calling on government, family courts and statutory agencies to prioritise the safety of children in child contact cases to save lives.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Farah Nazeer, Chief Executive of Women\u2019s Aid, comments:\u00a0<\/span><\/b> \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cToday\u2019s event was a poignant, and visceral, reminder of the very real danger that the \u2018pro-contact\u2019 culture in family courts poses to the lives of children and their mothers. Time and again survivors have told us of their harrowing family courts experiences, which allow the perpetrator of abuse to carry on tormenting survivors and their children \u2013 and finally, we are seeing some real and significant change take place. The government has made a momentous decision to repeal the presumption of contact \u2013 a vital step that will usher in a time of change and will see the safety and wellbeing of children prioritised.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cFor years, we and our survivor ambassador, Claire Throssell MBE, campaigned to have the presumption of contact removed. We succeeded. Now, we will continue applying pressure on the courts to maximise the impact of this monumental decision, by calling for legislation to be brought urgently to enact this critical change \u2013 women and children simply cannot wait. We are also calling for specialist domestic and sexual abuse training to be mandated for judges, in recognition of the fact that years of pro-contact culture will take time and education to reverse, and to ensure that preventable mistakes are avoided and both women and child survivors are kept safe.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Claire Throssell, MBE, survivor ambassador of Women\u2019s Aid, comments:<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cFor almost a decade, Women\u2019s Aid and I have worked together, campaigning to change the family courts and improve laws, to ensure that children at risk of further harm from abusive parents have a brighter, safer future, free from fear and oppression. Every child deserves to be heard, seen, supported, and believed; to have a childhood and to live.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n “Successive governments have failed to protect children, standing by an outdated presumption that it is in a child\u2019s best interests to have contact with both their parents, even when there have been allegations of domestic abuse.\u00a0 We have campaigned tirelessly to have this presumption removed from the family law and practice, because until this narrative changes, more children, like Jack and Paul, will continue to die. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n “Although today’s announcement can never bring back Jack and Paul it will give children further protection against preventable harm in their lives. No child should have to hold out a hand for help in darkness to a stranger and say that they have been hurt by someone who should love and protect them most. No parents should have to hold their children as they die, from the abuse of a perpetrator, as I did a decade ago.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Justice Minister, Baroness Levitt KC, said: <\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe horrors of domestic abuse can scar a child for life. It is apparent from our research that the presumption of parental involvement can, in some courts, lead to contact being ordered even in cases where there has been domestic abuse. Our priority must always be children\u2019s welfare. Being a parent is a privilege not a right: the only right which matters is a child\u2019s right to safety and this government is determined to ensure that that is at the heart\u2002of every decision made about each and every child.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n