Groundbreaking’ repeal of presumption of parental involvement in England and Wales ‘will ensure courts place safety of children above all else’

Today, my heart is full, thinking about the long road to this point of change in the family justice system, moving away from the presumption of parental contact at all costs, and the needless suffering and harm it engendered.

We founded VOICES Charity in 2014 precisely because three-quarters of us as survivor founders had experienced the corrosive power of family court and post-separation abuse, coercive control and honour-based abuse. We knew that our struggles and those of our children had gone under the radar except in the moments of crisis, and even then, so much of what was dangerous and unhealthy in abusive behaviours was misunderstood and our reactions and coping strategies pathologised.
So we founded a trauma recovery service, alongside a platform for enabling survivor voices to be heard and inform system change. The news today is a decisive step towards the safer society we wanted to see.

Along the way, we met many amazing people. I want to honour the many survivors who entrusted us with their stories and insights, informing Home Office research, the Domestic Abuse Act, academic studies, SafeLives and Women’s Aid Federation of England studies and campaigns, and providing consultation for groundbreaking domestic abuse training for family law professionals – despite justifable fear of legal retribution and the continuing power of their abusers in their communities. I hope this training will now be extended to the judiciary.

I want to thank SafeLives, joanne silver and Michelle Phillips for elevating the voices of survivors and listening when we first brought the stories from family court to the then Family Friends and Survivors group in 2015-16, Louise Tickle for her determination to shed light on family justice failings, Women’s Aid Federation of England for their tireless focus on unsafe parental contact, Saskia Lightburn-Ritchie at My CWA (Cheshire Without Abuse) for her humanity and bravery in this space, Angela Frazer-Wicks MBE as a survivor voice champion, Natalie Page for her incredible campaigning, Adrienne Barnett for her unwavering research focus and expertise, Rightsofwomen, Dr Charlotte Proudman and Dawn Pottery, Annie A Gibbs and Shana Begum elevating and supporting hidden and ignored voices of family justice victims and running by&for services including Bambuuu and Amour Destiné. And there are so many others!

The future now promises fundamental change at Cafcass (Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service), lived-experience led training for the judiciary, and also bringing survivor voices into the Local Family Justice Boards. I am so proud of my colleagues at VOICES Charity, many of whom have been influential behind the scenes in family justice reform – including Cathryn Blyth, for leading a DA Advisory Board, including survivors and trauma specialists, at Bristol Local Family Justice Board. Today is a good day for justice.