F.A.O Tartyhighheels

[OTTMummA]

hello, sorry to be a pain, but just read your comment on the ' should i contact my X's girlfriend ' - about domestic violence not being a reason to stop a father/mother seeing their children - is this true?
what circumstances would there have to be for a court order to be given that one parent is not allowed to see/visit child until said child is 18?

sorry if that makes no sense.

I'm not tartyhighheels, nor am I a lawyer, but I think there would have to be some serious abuse of the child for such an order to be made. Speak to Women's Aid?

I am a family lawyer, and the answer it is would have to be extreme reasons to prevent contact between a parent and a child.

If there has been proved Domestic Violence between the parents then the perpetrator may be required to attend courses to address their behavior/go through a period of supervised contact etc but if they do what is recommended then contact will usually continue. If they aren't prepared to take steps to address their behavior any application they may make for direct contact would be likely doomed, but indirect contact (letters/cards) may be considered.

If however we are talking about an older child who has witnessed and has memories of the violence there would be careful consideration of the impact this has had on the child and if the child is old enough, their wishes and feelings regarding contact would be taken into account. the older they get the more weight their wishes and feelings hold.

Domestic Violence is a significant feature in many family court cases. most regrettably however, there are most definitely vindictive women who know that they only need utter those two "magic words" at the Court door and the father will face an uphill struggle / drawn out process to challenge the allegation DV took place. Its an easy (and somewhat trending) allegation to make which causes most delay and heartache. in my job there most certainly is nothing like a woman scorned!!

And don't get me started on Women's Aid!!

Oh?

curious now

so just domestic violence wouldn't stop a parent being able to have contact with a child?

no,it wouldn't.

i have been in two refuges....my ex was violent

but he has no access as glitterkitten says,he doesnt address it,then access is doomed

whats your situation op??

there was a court order against my father that meant he couldn't contact us until we were 18 but my mum has never told me exactly why this was - i know he was violent - but have been told only to her.
we also had to stay in a refuge and move 300 miles away as a child.
I was only 2ish when they divorced and went to court so i can't remember what happend except the refuge as i was slightly older when we left.