{"id":48802,"date":"2025-10-22T17:02:00","date_gmt":"2025-10-22T16:02:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/womensaid.org.uk\/?page_id=48802"},"modified":"2025-10-22T17:39:58","modified_gmt":"2025-10-22T16:39:58","slug":"hear-them-or-grieve-them","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/womensaid.org.uk\/get-involved\/campaign\/hear-them-or-grieve-them\/","title":{"rendered":"Hear Them Or Grieve Them"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Hear Them or Grieve Them<\/b><\/span><\/h1>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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19 more children killed <\/b>in the last decade.\u00a0All preventable.<\/b>\u00a0
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In their memory, we’re campaigning to put child safety first.<\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/h2>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tTake action. Sign our open letter today<\/b><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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Claire\u2019s story<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>

11 years after I lost my precious boys, <\/span>we\u2019ve<\/span> finally changed the law to protect countless other children<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\"11 years ago, this week my sons Jack and Paul were killed by their domestically abusive father after a family court judge granted him unsupervised contact with them, despite my warnings. Jack\u2019s last words were \"my dad did this and he did it on purpose\". \"Even though he was dying, Jack did his best to tell as many people as he could what had happened, and that was the only time in the whole court process that Jack\u2019s voice was heard. He\u2019d never been asked his feelings, what he wanted, how he felt.\"\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\u201cEven in death, their voices and experiences were still silenced. It took 7 years for the courts to acknowledge Jack and Paul were murdered by their abusive father. Today, it feels like the systems finally starting to hear them. Presumption had no place in a court of law. No parent should have to hold their child in their arms while they die. My children were under the care of the family courts in the unsupervised access visit. They should have protected them, but they didn\u2019t hear their cries.\n\nThere\u2019s too much noise on parents' rights, and a deafening silence on children\u2019s rights in the family courts. It\u2019s time for them to hear the children.\"\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\u201cThat\u2019s why we\u2019re calling on the government to hear the children by implementing a whole-system approach to ending the pro-contact culture and that puts children's lives at risk.\u201d \n\nIt\u2019s too late for my boys, but it\u2019s not too late for others.\u201d \t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

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We\u2019ll never stop grieving Jack and Paul, the 46 child homicides before, or the 19 more child homicides since. Every one of these children deserved to be seen, heard and protected.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

In their memory, we\u2019re asking government to hear the children.\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Every child killed as a result of unsafe contact arrangements with a domestic abuse perpetrator is a failure of a system that places the wants of domestic abusers over the safety of children.\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>

Perpetrators have been using child contact as a weapon to manipulate family court professionals and statutory agencies, with deadly consequences for their victims.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

After a decade-long campaign by Women\u2019s Aid, our survivor ambassador Claire Throssell MBE, and countless survivors, are delighted the government has finally made the historic decision to repeal the legal presumption of parental involvement. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

This is a major campaign win which will save lives and gets us one step closer on our mission to keep women and children safe. Now we\u2019ve got commitment to changed the law, we’re calling for a whole-system approach to centre children\u2019s voices in the courts, and beyond.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Now’s the time to:<\/h2>