Dear Supporters
On 6th August, the Home Office launched a consultation around the Domestic Abuse Act Statutory Guidance. This is an important document that will inform how the Domestic Abuse Act is interpreted by the courts.
The Deadline for responses is 14th September 2021.
Domestic Abuse Act statutory guidance - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk
Having now read the document we have real concerns about how some of the guidance might be interpreted in a way that would negatively impact domestic abuse survivors who are navigating the family courts.
We urge you to add your voice to the consultation to ensure this doesn't happen: Domestic Abuse Act - consultation on draft statutory guidance for implementing the definition of domestic abuse (homeofficesurveys.homeoffice.gov.uk)
In June 2020, the Ministry of Justice published the ‘Harm Report’. This report was only circulated after the detailed scrutiny of the Domestic Abuse Bill in the House of Commons was completed and the two processes seem to have been running on parallel tracks ever since, without being sufficiently joined up. It is over a year now and there has been no tangible action to implement the necessary culture changes highlighted by the Harm Report, and we see no appetite by the Judiciary to take this report seriously.
Despite many concerns being raised and acknowledged in the Harm Report about the use of the ‘parental alienation’ as a counterclaim by abusive parents aiming to rationalise their children’s legitimate fear of them, the Domestic Abuse Act Statutory guidance still refers ‘alienating behaviours’ (page 25) being a domestic abuse tactic, without the context of how it is frequently misused and frequently accepted by the courts as a counter claim.
It also refers to ‘withholding affection’ (page 28) as an abuse tactic. We are already aware of Judges who sympathise with abusers and minimise / ignore allegations of marital rape, and we do not want to see an individual's right to consent to sex to be used against them in the family courts.
Whilst the guidance quite rightly talks about the impact on children of domestic abuse, we know that parents and children who disclose ongoing abuse on court ordered contact are effectively gagged. All too often, other agencies back off and fail to investigate safeguarding concerns when ‘it’s in the family court’ or ‘a family court matter’
Until the findings of the Harm Reports and Domestic Abuse Act guidance are effectively joined up, and there is a tangible improvement in the attitudes, education and governance of judges and others who inform decisions in the family courts, there is a risk that these clauses will be fully weaponised against women and children who are trying to escape abuse. Therefore, they should ideally be removed from the guidance or fully contextualised so there is NO risk of handing abusers another tool to use in the family courts.
Here's what others are saying:
#thecourtsaid campaign: UK Abuse Victims ‘Effectively Criminalised’ – #thecourtsaid
Support not Separation Campaign: https://twitter.com/NotSeparation/status/1433029488468807680?s=20
Women’s Aid: Alienating_behaviours_as_an_example_of_controlling_or_coercive_behaviour_page_25_2_.pdf (mcusercontent.com)
Please add your views to this important consultation Domestic Abuse Act - consultation on draft statutory guidance for implementing the definition of domestic abuse (homeofficesurveys.homeoffice.gov.uk)
Much love
Rachel & Teresa xx
Further background: Ministry of Justice Harm Report (June2020): Assessing Risk of Harm to Children and Parents in Private Law Children Cases (publishing.service.gov.uk)