I am a survivor of domestic abuse, and someone who passed through the arduous labyrinth of the family court system. Yet, my voice and my evidence were ignored as the court handed shared care of my children to my abuser. Imagine my devastation upon learning that the family court had committed the same error in the heartbreaking case of Sara Shariff. Like me, she was a victim, yet the family court judge ordered her to live with a violent father and as a result b she was tortured , beaten and killed. 

It is clear that there is a desperate need for accountability and transparency in family court. For too long, dubious and potentially life-threatening decisions have been able to hide behind the privacy of these courts. It's high time to shed light on the court's operations.

Too many children's lives are put at risk by decisions made behind closed doors. In England and Wales alone, more than 70,000 children lived with domestic abusers in 2019 (Office for National Statistics). There's no way of knowing how many of these cases were determined by court orders, cloaked in secrecy.

In the spirit of justice and children's safety, we demand that family courts be made public. This is an urgent call for judges to be held accountable for their decisions. Our children's lives depend upon it. My child now has to visit and live with an abuser because a judge ordered it. None of my evidence was even looked at by the judge. Police reports, social services reports , witness statements. I wasn’t given the opportunity for a fact finding hearing to prove the abuse. If I refuse to comply with the order I could face prison or child being removed from my care and placed with father full time. Yet if anything happens to my child there is no one who will be held accountable for that. 


Join us in ensuring our children's safety and the integrity of the family court system by signing this petition.