Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to prevent the misuse of civil and family court proceedings as a form of post-separation abuse and coercive control.

We are committed to improving experiences and outcomes for children and families, particularly in cases involving domestic abuse. The courts have a range of powers to protect victims of domestic abuse. Where repeated applications may be a continuing form of abuse, courts can make orders meaning the perpetrator would require the prior permission of the court before an application could be made. Alongside this, both the Family and Civil courts can appoint an appropriately qualified person to undertake cross-examination instead of a perpetrator.

We are rolling out the Child Focused Model nationally, reforming the procedure to be followed in certain private law children’s proceedings in the Family Court. The model embeds referrals to local, specialist domestic abuse support services where domestic abuse is raised as an issue in the case. Victims of domestic abuse and other harms can receive expert support from an Independent Domestic Violence Adviser who will undertake a risk assessment and can offer support to the victim throughout the court process.

The model frontloads information gathering and risk assessment through the introduction of the Child Impact Report which presents an assessment of issues through engagement with the parties, the children and relevant agencies. This approach means that evidence is available to judges earlier in the case and reduces the number of cases returning to court, protecting children and families from further trauma.