Every year in the UK, thousands of domestic abuse survivors — most of them mothers — are forced to co-parent with their abuser because of unsafe and outdated family court rulings.

Survivors of coercive control, emotional abuse, and physical violence face continued harm after separation, often through the very systems meant to protect them.
Post-separation abuse — where perpetrators use child contact, communication, and the court process itself to continue control — remains one of the most under-recognised safeguarding risks in the UK today.

When family courts fail to recognise this risk, they place both survivors and children in harm’s way.
Too often, the presumption of parental contact outweighs the need for safety, even in cases where abuse has been clearly evidenced.

Children in these situations are not shielded — they are exposed to ongoing emotional and psychological trauma. Survivors are left to navigate harassment, intimidation, and coercion long after leaving the relationship, often with little to no protection.

Reforming child contact law in the UK is not only about justice — it is about preventing lifelong harm to children and survivors.

The evidence is clear: post-separation abuse is real, dangerous, and preventable.
The recent findings by the Domestic Abuse Commissioner for England and Wales show that domestic abuse was present in nearly 90% of the family court cases reviewed — yet it was rarely treated as relevant to child welfare decisions.

We urgently need reform to ensure that UK family law is trauma-informed, evidence-based, and prioritises child safety over parental entitlement.

 
Our Key Demands:
🔹Mandatory safeguarding investigations in every case where domestic abuse is alleged or proven — before any contact is ordered.
🔹No court-ordered contact with a perpetrator of abuse until a full risk assessment has been completed by trained professionals.
🔹Rehabilitation and accountability measures (such as accredited behaviour-change or parenting programmes) must be completed before contact resumes.
🔹Trauma-informed training for all family court judges, Cafcass officers, and legal professionals handling cases involving domestic abuse.
🔹Ongoing support and safety reviews for survivors and children following a court order, to ensure wellbeing and safeguarding are maintained.
🔹A review of the ‘presumption of parental involvement’ in cases where abuse has occurred — ensuring that safety, not shared contact, is the priority.
 
Family court reform is long overdue.
Children’s welfare must come before convenience, and survivor safety must never be negotiable.

Please sign and share this petition to urge the UK Government, the Ministry of Justice, and Parliament to commit to meaningful reform that protects families from post-separation abuse.

No child should grow up in fear. No survivor should have to keep living in it.

Together, we can make family courts safe, trauma-informed, and centred on the wellbeing of children — not the rights of abusers.