Family court witness statement

[fromheretonowhere]

A friend left her partner due to emotional abuse and they are going through the family court to decide access as they can’t agree, plus the ex continues to abuse her each time he sees the child twice a week.

My friend has asked me if I would be prepared to submit a witness statement to say I was aware of the abuse before she left, as he is denying that he is abusive. The court has asked for these statements to support her claim that he was/is abusive.

I am happy to do this but she said there is a possibility that I will be summoned to give evidence in the family court. Does anyone know if this is likely, or even typically happened to witnesses? I am petrified at the thought of possibly being cross-examined by his solicitor and enduring a character assassination in the process.

Tbh I don’t think that anything I can say will be hugely important, as I’ve only met the ex once several years ago and can only really offer a general picture of the emotional abuse rather than many specifics.

If you provide a witness statement then you should be prepared to attend court and give evidence.
But the court don't want character references. They want evidence of facts so they can decide what happened

Just make sure that whatever you put in your statement is absolutely factual, and not hearsay repeating what your friend has told you. That way, if you are cross examined in court you won't be tripped up as it'll be the truth as you witnessed it.
If your statement doesn't support her assertion of him being abusive it may not be used anyway.

You would almost certainly be asked to appear as a witness at the fact finding hearing. Your friend’s solicitor can help you to write your statement as it must be written in a certain format. The information you provide can be based on what your friend has told you about her relationship and how you believe it has affected her and her child(ren).

I realise I’ve contradicted the previous poster. Obviously if you’ve only met your friend’s ex once, your experience of his character is limited but you can talk about the impact of his behaviour on your friend. The solicitor will let you know what’s relevant and what isn’t.

Please be there for your friend. Court isn't pleasant but neither was her life. You could make a big difference..

Thanks for the replies. My friend said there was only a very small chance I could be summoned which seems at odds with these replies. I’ll guess I’ll just have to be prepared for court.

She has sent me a court template to complete but no guidance of how/what to write, or mention of her solicitor speaking to me about it.

Everything I know of their relationship is pure hearsay from things she has said, and I’ve seen 2-3 texts from him that were awful - but that’s it. I definitely have no concrete firsthand evidence to offer, and I only met her ex for about 15 mins nearly 5 years ago.