Few people are aware that even if a parent rapes their own child and receives a criminal conviction, that they will retain their parental responsibility (PR) and the onus falls to the protective parent to prove the abusive parent poses a risk to their child. Unless the protective parent takes action in family court, the abuser will have a right of involvement in their child's life, a right to any data (including doctors and therapy notes) a right to decide where the child lives, what medical treatment they have and so on. There are no automatic protections for the child/ren in family law in these cases.
As most sexual abuse occurs in the family and is primarily committed by men, it is usually the mother that has to take the burden of responsibility to chip away at the rights of the abuser at family court. The average cost of these proceedings is £50,000.
More than 16% of girls who suffered penetrative abuse before the age of 16 identified their fathers (or step fathers with a sibling in the direct family) as the perpetrator of their abuse according to the 2019 crime survey. This crime is a lot more common than people think.
There are organisations fighting for justice for mums who find themselves in the situation of trying to protect their children from a child sexual offender who is a father. Please listen to the following podcast and read this useful background article. If you would like to start a petition please let me know.
Podcast - Spotlight on the Violence Against Women and Girls Sector: Child Sexual Abuse with Luci Coffey - Right to Equality | Podcast on Spotify
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