Sign This Petition If You Believe:

Domestic abuse should be understood, not misinterpreted
Victims should be protected, not blamed
Children should be prioritised, not placed in danger
Trauma should be recognised, not punished
DV training should not depend on luck
Every worker should meet the same national standard
Change must happen NOW

I want to be clear from the start: I did not lose my children, and I am not someone who had an open social services case.

I am a domestic-violence survivor but more importantly, I am someone who has supported, listened to, and stood beside hundreds of parents and families across the UK who have been involved with children’s services while fleeing abuse.

Over the years, I’ve seen the same heartbreaking patterns repeat themselves again and again.Different towns. Different workers. Different circumstances.But the same problems.

The stories I’ve heard from survivors the people I help every single week show a system that desperately needs change.

I’ve listened to mothers punished for asking for help.I’ve seen victims blamed for their own trauma.I’ve seen parents labelled as abusers while the real abuser walked free.I’ve watched children’s disclosures be ignored or dismissed.I’ve seen perpetrators manipulate professionals because the professionals weren’t trained to recognise domestic-abuse dynamics.

I’ve witnessed families torn apart based on assumptions, “what ifs”, and outdated theory rather than evidence and understanding.

I’ve read case files.I’ve helped survivors understand reports written about them.I’ve seen how one line one assumption can echo all the way to court.And through all of this, one truth keeps showing up:Most social workers and family professionals are NOT being trained properly in domestic abuse.And it’s costing families everything.I’ve spoken with survivors whose children were placed with their abusers.Survivors who were told they were “the problem” for leaving.Survivors whose mental health was used against them even when that mental health struggle was caused by the abuse they escaped.

Survivors who begged for help and were met with blame, judgement, or silence.I’ve also met social workers, students, contact workers, and professionals who privately admit:

“We never got proper DV training. We weren’t taught coercive control. We weren’t taught trauma.”

Some told me they learned more from TikTok and survivors than from their degree.

And yet  I have also met incredible social workers.Professionals who did understand DV.Professionals who did listen and reflect.Professionals who genuinely protected families.

That’s exactly the problem: Good practice in the UK depends entirely on luck.Who you get.Which borough you’re in.What training that team happened to receive  or didn’t receive.

This is not safe.

Not for parents.

Not for survivors.

Not for children.

And not for the social workers themselves who want to do the right thing but haven’t been given the tools.

I’m starting this petition because I’ve worked with so many families who were failed not because workers didn’t care, but because workers were not trained properly in domestic violence, coercive control, trauma, post-separation abuse, child manipulation, or the complexity of abusive dynamics.

I’ve seen too much pain to stay quiet.

This isn’t my story alone this petition carries the voices of every survivor I’ve supported,every parent who was misunderstood,every child who slipped through the cracks, and every professional begging for better training.

It’s time for change.

Families deserve safety.

Social workers deserve proper training.

Children deserve better outcomes.

And survivors deserve to be understood, not punished.

This is why I am fighting for mandatory domestic-violence training for all social workers and family professionals.

Not for me —

but for everyone I’ve worked with, everyone still fighting, and everyone who deserves better.

📢 Who We Call On

This petition demands action from:

🟣 Social Work England (SWE)Add DV training to qualifying standards.

🟣 Department for Education (DfE)Fund and implement national training.

🟣 The UK Government / Parliament Legislate mandatory DV training across social care.

🟣 Local Authorities & CAFCASS Ensure trauma-informed, DV-informed practice at every level.