*possible TW* if a parent has abused their child and there is evidence of this, what contact can they expect from the family court?

[Dramalaama]

If a parent has physically abused a child and children's services have evidence of this, what contact can they expect to have long term? Without being too outing, the abusive incident i am making reference to involved said parent choking a child and them not being able to breathe... Said parent has also used other punitive measures to punish, such as starvation and force feeding when misbehaving, pinching and smothering of mouth.
What would the other parent have to do to prove that unsupervised contact would be safe? Despite cafcass saying it is not in the child's best interests..

It may depend on how well ex can convince the judge that they take responsibility for their actions and are proving that they are taking steps to change. And whether there are any criminal convictions. Having CAFCASS on side and evidence from children's services is a big help to you so work with them.

Hopefully indirect contact via cards/letters would be all that was on the table. Stand your ground and be firm that no unsupervised/direct contact is acceptable. The mental and physical impact on the child is important to stress to the judge, give examples of how it has affected them.

My ex has a 'no direct contact' order with the children for less than the incidents you describe!

The level of trauma that child has had to go through at the hands of his/her parent makes my heart ache, quite literally.

I would sincerely hope that CAFCASS, Social Services and whatever Judge is presiding over this would say 'no unsupervised contact face to face ever again'...and potentially no face to face contact at all. The parent with care should be grabbing that child and running for the hills.

What you describe didn't happen in one incident, so this is repeated behaviour by a parent towards a defenceless child, and in my view under no circumstances should that child ever be left in the unsupervised care of that 'parent' ever again.

@JustAnotherLawyer2

The level of trauma that child has had to go through at the hands of his/her parent makes my heart ache, quite literally.

I would sincerely hope that CAFCASS, Social Services and whatever Judge is presiding over this would say 'no unsupervised contact face to face ever again'...and potentially no face to face contact at all. The parent with care should be grabbing that child and running for the hills.

What you describe didn't happen in one incident, so this is repeated behaviour by a parent towards a defenceless child, and in my view under no circumstances should that child ever be left in the unsupervised care of that 'parent' ever again.

What can I do to ensure unsupervised contact isn't just given to him? we're waiting for a section 7 to be ordered at the moment.

It is highly unlikely any form of contact is going to be given before the s7 report is complete, and I can't see CAFCASS recommending contact if what you say about the assaults is true and documented.

But, I wouldn't necessarily put anything past a judge, magistrates or CAFCASS, so I will tell you what I tell everyone facing family court - get yourself an excellent family law barrister who has a particular interest and experience in 'domestic' abuse.

I look after my grandson, both parents exhibited violent behaviour although not directly to the baby the threat was deemed significant enough they're ordered to supervised contact (contact centre) only, there's no end date to supervised contact so there's a chance this will continue 'till he's 18

Do you know how he would be asked to prove he's safe if unsupervised contact has been stated to be inappropriate as of yet. Would the court really take a chance on a child's life in this way?

@Dramalaama I don't really understand your question? A person is "tested" by social services and Cafcass if they find a person to be safe the court will usually go with their recommendation

Have you got the outcome of the section 7? The court generally goes with that report but not always, there are so many variables and each case is different

@Cait73 I have sent you a PM

@Dramalaama how do I find it?

Should be a little green icon that says (1) in the top right hand corner.