Family Court Law Change - Finally!!

[KimuraTan]

Don't know if this has been posted before.

I endured 6 years of fighting my narcissistic ex-husband in the family court and it was a clinical psychologist assessment that finally put the nail in his coffin of continuous litigation. Social Services and Cafcass were unhelpful to say the least.

I am so pleased to see this change in the family courts:

www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/oct/21/family-law-shift-hailed-as-victory-for-children-facing-domestic-abuse

It's huge.
And it's mind boggling it carried on this long.
And I take my hat off to all the campaigners.

Abusers rights were trouncing the rights of children and it was such an awful topsy turvy system

Women left an abusive relationship and then discovered they had just made their children 1000 x more vulnerable.

I know several people who got jobs at Cafcass then swiftly left when they realized it was prioritising abusers rights over the children's safety

This exactly:

“Women left an abusive relationship and then discovered they had just made their children 1000 x more vulnerable.“

😢 @Coldsoup

I know friends who were threatened with custody reversal in the face of DV and further abuse by proxy (through the children). Finally, the change is here. I cried reading it.

That's very good news, I've never understood how it's right to send young impressionable DC to their DF when he has a history of abuse. Hopefully this will make a lot of DMs lives better too

Hope the judiciary are quick to catch up

The presumption that abuse of the mother is irrelevant is so damaging to women and children.

Family friend's dh went to jail for abusing 1 dc .for over a decade... They got divorced while he was inside. When he was due for release she was told he would get access to the other 2 dc as he hadn't touched them. She fled with all 3 dc. Not sure how the system allowed that. He was a sick fucker. As was the judge who passed that order.

It’s still yet to pass through parliament, and I agree with the campaigner who asked, who will train the judges out of their patricentric culture?

Good news though for the many women on MN who, along with their children, have been affected by this.

Abusers are fabulous at pulling the wool over social services eyes

It’ll take a new generation of judges

And if SS are involved, then it’s going to raid a huge shift in their attitude because it’s them that laid the recommendations with their professional opinions.

Oh wow. This is huge, although it was "huge" that is was allowed in the first place. I'm lucky enough never to have had to consider leaving an abusive partner and tbh couldn't believe what I read on here from people in that situation, people saying repeatedly over the years I've been on MN that abuse wasn't a reason the partner couldn't see their kids in the eyes of the law.

I'll be interested to see how it shakes out.

Great.

There are so many toxic parents out there.

This should be front page of every newspaper, amazing news, agree with the posters and the campaigners who've said this needs careful planning to ensure training and oversight. There will be families out there right now stuck in these awful situations and we need to give them faith that if they choose to reignite a fight their voices will actually be heard.

Cannot believe this finally happened. So very awful for many families before now.

This is fabulous news!

I wonder how / if judges will incorporate this into their rulings. I also wonder if this will do anything to change the way Social Services does things

I agree
And I am so sorry grateful to those who campaigned , because many women are left so broken and shocked by it that they just run out of fight.

this is great news but I think at the moment it is a “plan to change to law one day when we get around to it”. So it doesn’t come into effect immediately.

now is a good time to write to your mp and campaign and turn the new rules from an idea into law.

@KimuraTan
Thank you for posting this to highlight that at last some sense might be seen in courts for children not to be put in danger(and mothers) in DV custody cases.
It has been horrific for many and I hope this is put into law and acted on by judges ASAP.
Support to all who have already suffered with these ridiculous judgements, those who are currently struggling and strength to those who need to leave DV situations.💕

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/czx4zrlyyg2o

Trigger warning - very upsetting and tragic case .

Have just listened to Claire Throssell on radio 4 Woman’s Hour today . She was one of the campaigners for the change in the law . She has campaigned for 11 years for the change to the law . What a truly inspiring woman who has campaigned following an unimaginable personal tragedy .
Very moving account on Woman’s Hour and my heart goes out to her and mothers like her who have endured such tragic personal loss .

It's in no way victory.

Abusers have long used the family courts as a way of retaining control over their ex-partners, while women who raise domestic abuse in the courts have often been subject to counter allegations that they are attempting to “alienate” the child from the father

This will continue on both sides and it will be left to a broken down organisations to make a decision on which parent they believe most, which sadly is often more representative of how skilled they are at manipulating and fooling everyone.

I will shout victory the day the system start to listen to the children themselves. Kids even from a young age are much more likely to be impartial and able to give a better picture of the reality, expressed I their own age related means. We need better child experts with mediation skills to be more involved with the court process.

@vivainsomnia it's also down to the often non resident (father) who has the time and means to employ barristers while mothers cannot afford it and cannot self rep effectively either. Don't get me started on legal aid because I was abused and couldn't get it.