Express wins fight to protect abuse victims
THE Daily Express secured a major victory last night after domestic abuse victims and their children were promised greater protection.
Ministers have vowed to overhaul the Family Court – where as many as 60 per cent of cases involve some form of abuse.
It followed demands from this newspaper for better protection for those who need it most in our End This Injustice campaign.
Sweeping reforms will see victims given automatic entitlement to separate building entrances, waiting rooms and protective screens to shield them from abusers in court.
It will also be made easier for judges to issue barring orders, preventing abusive ex-partners from repeatedly dragging victims back to court – a tactic used to continue their torture.
Writing exclusively for the Daily Express today Justice Minister Alex Chalk said: “We want to overhaul the system to ensure the courts offer better protections for those who need them most – as campaigned for so effectively and emotively in these pages.
“This newspaper deserves huge credit for the spotlight it has shone on the family courts.
“These are where, in thousands of cases a year, judges are asked to make the most agonising of decisions about children’s welfare.”
A review into how the family courts handle domestic abuse and other serious offences raised concerns that victims and children were being put at unnecessary risk.
It found an adversarial process often worsened conflict between parents and piled extra trauma on those who should be protected.
An Integrated Domestic Abuse Courts pilot will now consider family and criminal matters together, in a bid to provide more consistent support for victims.
Emphasis will be placed on getting to the root of an issue and ensuring all parties are safe and able to provide evidence on an equal footing – without the harrowing effects of being in court with an abusive ex-partner. A review will also be launched into the presumption of “parental involvement” that often encourages a child’s relationship with both parents, unless the involvement of that parent would put the child at risk.
It will examine whether the right balance is being struck between the risk of harm to children and victims, and the right of the child to have a relationship with both parents.
The package forms part of plans published today which offer immediate and longer-term steps to better protect victims.
These include judges deciding what evidence to investigate, rather than both parties presenting their cases against each other. Domestic Abuse Commissioner Nicole Jacobs said: “Problems in the Family Court are the single most common concern raised with me and I am glad to see this report published in time to implement its recommendations through the Domestic Abuse Bill.”
Dame Vera Baird QC, Victims’ Commissioner for England and Wales, said: “This panel of experts has dug deep to understand, and address, the serious harm to domestic abuse victims and their children caused over many years by the presumption of contact, and the intensely adversarial process present in the family courts.
“With children’s voices rarely heard in these proceedings, and even more rarely heeded, victims and children are in need of better protections from abusive perpetrators. I call on the Government to action this as a matter of urgency.”
The Daily Express’s End This Injustice campaign has tirelessly strived to reform the Family Court by removing the parental rights of fathers of children conceived through rape.
It has also called for an inquiry into the handling by family courts of domestic abuse and violence against women and girls in child arrangement cases.
The changes build on the Domestic Abuse Bill, currently before Parliament, which seeks to protect victims.