{"id":8043,"date":"2016-01-20T00:01:50","date_gmt":"2016-01-20T00:01:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/womensaid.org.uk\/?page_id=8043"},"modified":"2025-10-22T16:57:43","modified_gmt":"2025-10-22T15:57:43","slug":"childfirst","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/womensaid.org.uk\/get-involved\/campaign\/childfirst\/","title":{"rendered":"Child First: Safe Child Contact Saves Lives"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Child First<\/b><\/h1>\n

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Help us stop avoidable child deaths and make sure children are put first<\/strong>\u00a0in the family courts.<\/p>\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

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What is the Child First campaign<\/strong> about?<\/h2>

Since our campaign began in 2016, we have been calling on the government and all <\/span><\/span>family courts agencies to make the family court process safer for women and <\/span>children<\/span> survivors of domestic abuse. We want an end to avoidable child deaths <\/span>as a result of<\/span> unsafe child contact with dangerous perpetrators of domestic abuse. For this to happen, domestic abuse must be taken <\/span>seriously<\/span> and survivors must receive the right response.<\/span><\/span><\/p>

Eight<\/span><\/span><\/span> years on, the campaign has seen critical changes \u2013 including the government <\/span>leading an expert review on domestic abuse and the family courts (the \u2018Harm Panel\u2019 report), which Women\u2019s Aid sat on the panel <\/span>for<\/span>. As a result of this review, the g<\/span><\/span>overnment <\/span>banned perpetrators from directly cross-examining survivors and are piloting a more safety-focused, trauma-aware and investigative court model.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Despite these developments, survivors<\/span><\/span><\/span> still tell us that they have been re-victimised and traumatised by their abusers through the family court process. We won\u2019t stop fighting for the culture change which is urgently needed to guarantee the safety of women and children<\/span> in the family courts.<\/span><\/span><\/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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Campaign news<\/strong><\/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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Women\u2019s Aid patron Melanie Brown MBE launches petition on training for judges <\/span><\/b> <\/span><\/p>\n

Melanie Brown MBE is passionate about family court reform, having gone through the system herself in the USA. She hears from women across England who have their experiences of abuse minimised, ignored or used against them by family court judges \u2013 and says: \u2018It\u2019s not good enough and we cannot wait any longer.\u2019 <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

She says: <\/span><\/p>\n

“Judges need to know what they are talking about when they make decisions, and to do this they need training \u2013 not training they have designed themselves, but training with domestic abuse experts like Women\u2019s Aid.”<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Her petition calls on the Judicial College to introduce this training and the government to be accountable for this, as well as for taking forward the recommendations in the \u2018Harm Panel\u2019 report. <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

You can support the campaign and sign the petition here<\/a>.  <\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

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Compulsory mediation plans deemed unsafe for survivors and dropped<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

As covered in our June 2023 update, the government consulted on plans to make mediation compulsory before attending the family court. Even though this would technically not apply to survivors, we know that many survivors do not have accepted forms of \u2018evidence\u2019 of their abuse and may end up in mediation with their perpetrator regardless.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Women\u2019s Aid responded to this consultation, setting out how compulsory mediation could harm survivors and give perpetrators more opportunities to abuse and control. In addition, we coordinated a letter signed by 30 women\u2019s sector organisations to the Justice Minister. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

We are very pleased that our concerns have been heard. The government response to the consultation said: <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Many respondents to the consultation were concerned that the proposed exemptions would not be enough to adequately protect survivors of domestic abuse from being required to attend mediation when it is not suitable or safe for them. We are not proposing to change the law to introduce a requirement on parties to attend mediation before applying to court at this time. Instead, we will focus on delivering the package of measures that helps parents\/carers resolve their issues at every stage of the process.<\/p><\/blockquote>

These measures include better domestic abuse training for mediators and screening processes, which Women\u2019s Aid is supporting the Family Mediation Council to develop. This should help ensure mediators are better equipped to identify domestic abuse and respond appropriately.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

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Government consults on dangerous proposals to make pre-court mediation compulsory<\/strong><\/p>

The Ministry of Justice is considering making mediation compulsory for separating partners before they can go through the family courts. It claims the proposals will reduce the number of cases in the strained family justice system and ensure better outcomes for children.<\/p>

We don\u2019t agree \u2013 these plans would be dangerous for survivors and their children. Whilst there would be an exemption from compulsory mediation in cases of domestic abuse, we know that many survivors will not be able to access it \u2013 because they are afraid to disclose abuse or because they do not have one of the required forms of evidence.<\/p>

Mediation is likely to be unsafe for many survivors. Perpetrators may use the process to further abuse them and force them into decisions about child contact which they don\u2019t believe are safe. Survivors need the protection of court from abusers\u2019 strategies of coercion and control.<\/p>

These plans go against the government\u2019s commitment to make the family courts safe for child and adult survivors. In our response to the consultation, we are urging the Ministry of Justice to reconsider and to instead prioritise implementing the Harm Panel\u2019s recommendations to make the family courts safer, trauma-aware and child-centric.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

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Government publishes progress update on the Harm Panel report<\/strong><\/p>

Three years on from the \u2018Harm Panel\u2019 report, a landmark review of domestic abuse and the family courts, the government has published an update on their progress towards the recommendations.<\/p>

A justice minister claimed the government has made \u2018huge strides\u2019 and \u2018delivered cultural changes across the family justice system to ensure domestic abuse victims feel supported and protected\u2019. But we are still hearing reports of survivors who raise domestic abuse being disbelieved and discriminated against, experiencing trauma and further abuse throughout the process.<\/p>

Whilst there have been positive changes in the three years \u2013 like support workers being allowed to accompany survivors into court and the ban of direct cross-examination by perpetrators \u2013 these have not been enough to transform survivors\u2019 experiences.<\/p>

We are continuing to push for all 32 of the Harm Panel\u2019s recommendations to be implemented to ensure safety in the family courts for adult and child survivors.<\/p>

Read our full comment on the Harm Panel progress update\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

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Women\u2019s Aid report marks two years since the Harm Report\u2019s publication<\/strong><\/p>

In June 2020, the Ministry of Justice published the\u00a0<\/span>final report<\/span><\/a>\u00a0of its expert panel on assessing risk of harm to children and parents in private family\u00a0law children cases. The report\u00a0concluded that the family courts do not effectively protect many child and adult victims of domestic abuse\u00a0from further harm. It made a number of recommendations which, if implemented, would transform the family court response to domestic abuse.<\/span><\/p>

Two years later, Women\u2019s Aid has published a new report:\u00a0Two years, too long<\/a>. In the report we ask what progress has been made since the publication of the Harm Report, and what work remains to be done. Our report is informed by the experiences of survivors who have been in court since 2020, and the specialist services supporting them.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

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On 29th<\/sup>\u00a0April 2021, the\u00a0Domestic Abuse Act<\/a>\u00a0reached royal assent and finally became law. The Act contains a number of new provisions that will help to make the family courts safer for survivors and their children. These include:<\/p>