My Lords, the presumption of contact cannot be the first indicated assurance by the family court process. As a front-line social worker supporting supervised contact, my experience was that there is an underlying assumption
of statutory services that all parents are entitled to access to children, regardless of any fears that the primary carer or parent may have about violence or abuse. Of course, there are exceptional social workers and other professionals who will pay heed to the whole range of issues of safeguarding, particularly where there is a previous history of violence and abuse.
I commend here the long-standing and excellent work of Barnardo’s and the Thomas Coram Foundation contact centre. In my experience, they have always taken these grave matters into consideration, but their services are for the lucky few. This is why I support the amendment in the name of the noble Baroness, Lady Jones. As has been detailed, the harm review found a pattern of sexism, racism and class bias against mothers and children in the family court and confirmed the presumption of contact, which has resulted in the minimisation and disbelief of allegations of domestic abuse and child sexual abuse.
The presumption is often based on one parent lying to deprive the other of access to children and somehow persuading their children to turn against the other parent. Such legal presumption often disadvantages women, including those from minority heritage backgrounds and those for whom our legal system is frequently alienating due to a lack of adequate English or knowledge about their rights.
Even in these most serious cases against mothers and children, the presumption of contact has triumphed, dismissing evidence of domestic abuse and negating mothers’ fears of extensive coercive and controlling behaviour or sexual abuse. Some women who have written to me suggest that fathers have been able to recognise the argument of being alienated to argue their entitlement to access, even where there has been evidence of violence or sexual abuse.
As has been suggested by noble and learned Lords and other noble Lords, the court system does not always function as it should. It is not beyond the wit of our courts to make a proper assessment of the impact on children when they have witnessed countless occasions of violent incidents experienced by their mother or why children would be afraid to see their violent father in any unsupervised contact.
Children who do not want to see their fathers are sometimes forced into foster care, separated from siblings, or given to other family members, to force them into contact. The London Victims’ Commissioner has called this “state-sanctioned abuse”. I am not saying that; someone who has a wide range of experience is saying it. We have to respect that view and take it on board.
5.45 pm
The figures speak for themselves. Women’s Aid research demonstrates that safeguarding concerns resulting from domestic abuse are still not believed or understood within the child contact system, leading to potentially unsafe contact decisions which, in the most extreme cases, have resulted in children being seriously harmed and murdered. This was highlighted in the Women’s Aid report, which referred to the horrific murder of Claire Throssell’s two sons. This case illustrates the danger of unsupervised contact. We risk further tragedies unless this is addressed now.
As has already been referred to, last year the Ministry of Justice published the final report of its expert panel—Women’s Aid was part of it—on assessing the risk of harm to children and parents in family law children’s cases. It concluded that family courts do not effectively protect many child and adult victims of domestic abuse from further harm. It called for fundamental reform of the child arrangements programme, arguing that the system should be redesigned with a focus on trauma and an assurance to work collectively across all other justice agencies. The presumption should be ended in cases where children are at risk of harm from domestic abuse, with contact arrangements for domestic abuse cases based on an informed judgment of the child’s best interests and safety. The Ministry of Justice panel concluded in June 2020 that the presumption should be urgently reviewed.
I have been overwhelmed with emails and messages from women who have experienced hopelessness with our legal system. No doubt we can deluge this Chamber with countless cases—I am sure that many noble Lords have been contacted and reached out to. All involve years of long-lasting and damaging court cases where children are forced into contact deemed unsafe. Mothers have experienced pressure to prove that their fear was real but that has been denied, so inflicting further injury to the mother and children. One survivor, speaking on behalf of many named survivors, said to me, “I am crying out for help and hope”. This amendment is one small aspect of our response to safeguard them and their children. I speak to give their voices in the Chamber today.