Witness statements in Family Court Proceedings

[Chocolatehobnob9]

Hi All -
I am due in Court with my ex in a few weeks and my solicitor and I are finalising my position statement in response to the statement he has submitted.
I have had a number of statements provided from ex work colleagues, friends and another ex partner. Basically to say I was in an abusive relationship.
My Solicitor has asked if all those who have provided a statement would be willing to sign a form to say their statement can be used in Court to support my case.
A couple of them wish to remain anonymous however because my ex is psychotic.
My Solicitor has said unfortunately they are not able to remain anonymous..

Is this true?
What about the impact on their safety?
They could declare who they are to the Court but I think it's just they didn't want my ex partner to know who had provided this particular statement for fear of repercussions.

Any advice would be great.
Thanks

Yes it's true that they can't remain anonymous. They can withhold their address but they are going to have to be prepared to come to court and give evidence. Not entirely sure what they thought might happen.

Can they provide their name to the Court but not to the defendant? I think it's a safety issue.

You can’t have anonymous witnesses in court. How can their accounts be properly challenged if the defendant and their legal representatives don’t know who they are. People give evidence all the time in very serious cases including murder and rape. The only time I’ve ever seen names withheld is if they are police officers who’ve been working undercover.