Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps has he taken to ensure judges in family courts, dealing with cases involving allegations of rape and sexual abuse, have received specialist, mandatory and up-to-date trauma-informed training.

To preserve judicial independence, statutory responsibility for the training of the courts’ judiciary in England and Wales rests with the Lady Chief Justice and is delivered through the Judicial College.

Domestic abuse in all its forms, including sexual abuse, is embedded as a central theme in training for family judges. Training is regularly reviewed and updated to ensure it continues to be effective and reflects the latest developments in law, practice and procedure.

The College adopts an overall trauma-informed approach which aims to equip judges to recognise and understand the effects of trauma, support safe and effective participation and avoid unnecessary re-traumatisation. All new judges complete a cross-jurisdiction induction which has a central focus on trauma-informed practice. The College is also developing a new foundation module to support enhanced understanding of the effects of trauma on presentation, behaviour and memory.