Last week a senior family court judge, Mr Justice Cobb, proposed changes to the way the family courts deal with allegations of domestic abuse in disputes over arrangements for children. The announcement comes one year after the Women’s Aid report entitled ‘Nineteen Child Homicides’ was published alongside the launch of the Child First campaign.
The proposed changes implement some of the recommendations in the report. The report focusses on cases in which children have been killed by their fathers between 2005 and 2015. Within twelve families nineteen children were killed, two women were killed, two children were seriously harmed through attempted murder, and seven men killed themselves after child homicide. All of the perpetrators were having contact with their children and the family court was or had been involved with seven of the families.
The two stated aims of the Child First campaign are:
‘Further avoidable child deaths must be prevented by putting children first in the family courts – as the legal framework and guidance states’; and
‘to make the family courts fit for purpose through the introduction of protection measures for survivors of domestic abuse’.
The family court has had rules in place since 2008 setting how the court should deal with domestic abuse in these situations. The current Family Procedure Rules provide:
‘The Family Court presumes that the involvement of a parent in a child’s life will further the child’s welfare, so long as the parent can be involved in a way that does not put the child or other parent at risk of suffering harm.’
The rules go into detail about how allegations of abuse are to be dealt with from a procedural perspective. Despite the existence of the rules, perpetrators are still able to use the family courts to continue the abuse. It therefore appears that the courts are not identifying and dealing with domestic abuse cases as they should. The changes announced should ensure that family judges are more alert to the impact of domestic abuse.
An ardent supporter of the Women’s Aid campaign is Claire Throssell who appeared in the media last week to highlight the proposed changes and keep the subject within the public conscience. Ms Throssell’s two sons, Jack age 12 and Paul age 9, died after their father Darren Sykes deliberately set fire to his house in Penistone, killing himself as well as the two boys.
Allegations of domestic abuse in children cases have to be taken seriously. The presumption of parental involvement in a child’s life has to be balanced against any risk of harm to the child and the other parent. It is essential therefore that all the professionals involved are trained in how to deal with these situations and minimise the possibility of further tragedies.
To find out more, contact Taylor&Emmet on (0114) 218 4000, email info@tayloremmet.co.uk or follow the firm on Twitter @tayloremmet.
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