Children and the role of agencies in meeting their needs

1. Children and the role of agencies in meeting their needs Nicki Norman, Director of Services, Women’s Aid @womensaid @norman_nicki

2. About Women’s Aid Women’s Aid is the national charity in England for women and children working to end domestic abuse. We are a federation of over 220 member organisations. Our members provide more than 300 local lifesaving services to women and children including refuges, counselling, Helplines, play therapy, perpetrator programmes and specific support for BME women. Conduct research with survivors of domestic abuse on key policy issues. Lobbying and campaigning. Run the National Domestic Violence Helpline in partnership with Refuge. Work on prevention through Safer Futures and the Expect Respect Toolkit.

3. Today’s focus…. Children and young people Change that Lasts The Family Courts

4. 1 in 5 children have been exposed to domestic abuse (Radford 2011). Domestic Abuse is a factor in 60% of Serious Case Reviews (where a child has been murdered or seriously injured as a result of abuse or neglect). (Brandon 2012). 1 in 5 teenagers have been physically abused by a boyfriend or girlfriend (Barter et al 2009).

5. 97% of women in refuges and 94% in non-refuge services had children aged 15 or younger 31% said children were or had been on a child protection plan 31% said their children had also been directly abused 35% of the children in refuges who had been abused and 29% in non-refuge services were still in contact with the perpetrator

6. Barriers to achieving positive outcomes • Unhelpful responses from a range of agencies • Uncompromising focus on risk • Silent communities condoning abuse • Additional and complex needs falling through a net

8. The key principles underpinning the development of Change that Lasts are that: i. Responses should build on and nurture the internal and external resources available to individual survivors, reducing their longer-term need to draw on public resources. ii. Every point of interaction with a survivor is an opportunity for intervention. It should not be missed, and should never add to the huge barriers survivors already face. iii. Supporting the non-abusing parent is likely to improve the safety and well-being of children and should always be fully explored i. Addressing the immediate safety needs of survivors and their children is important but should not be the sole focus of interventions.

9. Expert Support

11. Domestic abuse and the family courts Women report feeling re-victimised and re-traumatised by family courts. A minority (one in ten) of parental separations reach family courts in England and Wales but domestic abuse is the most common welfare issue raised (Hunt & McLeod, 2008). On average, only 1% of applications for contact are refused (Aris and Harrison 2007) – yet domestic violence is an issue in 70% - 90% of family proceedings cases (HMICA 2005).  In three-quarters of cases where courts have ordered contact with an abusive parent the children suffered further abuse(Raford, Sayer and AMICA ,1999).

12. Impact on women Rights of Women and CWASU 2012 report Picking up the Pieces found: Despite histories of violence, children refusing contact or expressing terror and distress, unsupervised contact was routinely ordered to abusive fathers. 74% of women interviewed said they had concerns for their safety while attending court. 52% of women interviewed had represented themselves in court proceedings at some stage. All women interviewed experienced ongoing violence and abuse post-separation. Most women wanted their child(ren) to have a relationship with the father, despite the violence they had experienced but wanted to ensure that any contact would be would be physically and emotionally safe for them and their children.

13. Picking up the Pieces… 79% of legal professionals reported that regaining power and control was a primary motivation behind applications for child contact by perpetrators of violence. Only 10% of legal professionals said that judges fully complied with the judicial guidance for dealing with child contact cases where domestic violence is an issue. 90% of women identified some degree of impoverishment as a result of the legal proceedings, commonly because they were unable to work. Some were prevented from finding work and some had to give up their jobs. 45% of women experienced violence after the making of a contact order, most commonly threats and harassment.

14. Nineteen Child Homicides An investigation into cases where children had been killed by a perpetrator of domestic abuse during, or as a result of, unsafe child contact. January 2005 to August 2015 (inclusive) in England and Wales.

15. Twenty-eight deaths in 12 families • 19 children, all killed by a parent who was a known perpetrator of domestic abuse • Two mothers were killed by the father of their children • Seven fathers committed suicide. In addition, one attempted suicide. • Two more children were seriously physically harmed (attempted murder) • All 12 fathers known to statutory agencies as perpetrators of domestic abuse • For 12 children (in seven families) of the 19 children killed, contact with the perpetrator (their father) was arranged in court

16. Key issues identified: Children being killed by perpetrators through child contact. Lack of specialist domestic abuse training for professionals working in the family court system. Lack of understanding of impact of domestic abuse on children. Family courts/child contact is a site of continuing violence. Unsupervised contact allowed for perpetrators. Presumption of parental involvement in domestic violence cases. Limited opportunities for independent review into family courts and domestic violence. Limited access to protection measures in court. Children’s voices are not heard by the family courts. Fears of child abduction. Safety issues at child contact handover.

17. Key themes from the report: • The importance of recognising domestic abuse as harm to children. • Professional understanding of coercive control. • Understanding parental separation as a risk factor. • The way statutory agencies interact with families where there is domestic abuse. • Supporting non-abusive parents and challenging abusive parents. “No parent should have to hold their children and comfort them as they die or be told that their child has been harmed in an act of revenge or rage. There are often many facets to one family’s breakdown and all too often children’s voices are not heard or acted upon.” (Claire Throssell, mother of Jack and Paul who were killed in October 2014 by their father after he was granted unsupervised contact with them by the family court)

18. “It is, in my view, high time that the Family Justice System abandoned any reliance on the proposition that a man can have a history of violence to the mother of his children but, nonetheless, be a good father.” Lord Justice Wall

19. Women’s Aid Campaign Is calling for: An end avoidable child deaths through unsafe child contact. Making legal presumption that contact with a perpetrator of domestic violence is not always in best interests of the child a realityby effective implementation of Practice Direction 12J Family courts to be made fit for purpose through introduction of protection measures for survivors of domestic abuse. Specialist domestic abuse training for all agencies/individuals involved in family courts. Please support the Child First Campaign and sign our petition: https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/child-first-safe-child-contact-saves-lives

20. Contact information Email: info@womensaid.org.uk n.norman@womensaid.org.uk Websites: http://www.womensaid.org.uk/ http://www.thehideout.org.uk/ https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/child-first-safe-child-contact-saves-lives @womensaid @norman_nicki National Domestic Violence Helpline: 0808 2000 24 7 (run in partnership by Women’s Aid and Refuge)