Hi there,
As those of you who saw our GE2024 Mumsnet Manifesto will know, two of our policy asks were related to reform of the family courts. We want the new government to ensure that judges in family courts receive regular specialist training on domestic abuse, and we want them to end the presumption of contact in cases with abusive parents. We know this is something that many of you feel very strongly about - in a survey we ran on the topic we found that:
- 85% of you agree that the presumption of parental involvement should not apply in cases where a parent has perpetrated domestic abuse, violence or rape against their child’s other parent.
- 84% of you agree that perpetrators of domestic abuse, violence or rape against their child’s other parent should have their parental responsibility removed.
- 93% of you agree that judges in family courts should receive specialist training on domestic abuse from expert organisations.
Shortly after the election, we wrote to Alex Davies-Jones MP, the new Minister for Victims and Violence against Women and Girls at the Ministry of Justice, to share the results of the survey we ran and call again for reform of the family courts system. We're delighted that she's agreed to meet us next month to talk about this important issue.
We want to use the meeting as a chance to raise your voices, and so if you have experience of the family court system that you would like us to share with the Minister - or anything else related to her responsibilities that you would like us to raise - then please do let us know via this thread.
Thanks,
MNHQ