Polling published by Mumsnet, the UK’s leading website for parents, has shown strong support for reform of the family justice system. A survey of more than 1000 parents found overwhelming support for changes to the law to ensure that perpetrators of offences including domestic abuse, rape and other violent crimes have their parental rights restricted.
Currently, when the court decides who a child should live or spend time with, it begins with the presumption that the involvement of both parents in the child’s life is best for the child. Mumsnet’s research found that:
85% of users agree that the presumption of parental involvement should not apply in cases where a parent has perpetrated domestic abuse, violence or rape against their child’s other parent.
84% of users agree that perpetrators of domestic abuse, violence or rape against their child’s other parent should have their parental responsibility removed.
93% of respondents also agree that judges in family courts should receive specialist training on domestic abuse from expert organisations.
Nearly half (41%) of those who responded to the survey had previously experienced domestic abuse, with more than one in ten (12%) having experienced abuse in the past twelve months. Mumsnet’s analysis of conversations on site shows that around 1000 women a year are helped out of abusive relationships with the support of other Mumsnet users.
Justine Roberts, Mumsnet Founder and CEO, said:
“Every year on Mumsnet, around a thousand women are helped out of abusive relationships with the practical and emotional support of other users. But we know from the stories they share that all too often, after women have left an abusive relationship, they are retraumatised by their experience of the family courts, and forced to facilitate contact between their children and their abusive ex-partners.
“The current approach puts women and children in danger. The government must act swiftly to change the law and ensure perpetrators cannot exploit the system in order to continue their abuse”.
Survey of 1006 Mumsnet users, May 2024