Campaigning for gender equality under the law

Right to Equality is a not-for-profit organisation founded to advance the rights and safety of parents and children under the law. We work to challenge systemic inequality, strengthen legal protections, and ensure that family justice prioritises safety, dignity, and equality.

We have a strong track record of successful legal and policy reform. Our campaigning has contributed to the repeal of the presumption of parental involvement in the family courts, the criminalisation of public sexual harassment, the criminalisation of hymenoplasty and child marriage, and the decriminalisation of abortion. Our work has helped shift legal frameworks away from harmful presumptions and toward evidence-based, survivor-centred justice.

Building on our history of impact, Right to Equality is currently working to end unjust child removal in the family courts, where decisions too often separate children from safe parents without sufficient evidence or accountability. We are calling for:

• Action Against Child Removal in family courts. Read the Child Removal Survey Results Here.

• The introduction of a Family Justice Bill to embed equality, safety, and children’s welfare at the heart of family justice.

• Building a fairer justice system by “Breaking Bias, Building Justice” in the family courts.

• Reforming Hague Convention proceedings, ensuring that international family law protects children and safeguarding parents and is not misused in ways that expose families to further harm.

• Overhauling child sexual abuse cases

Dr Charlotte Proudman is a multi-award-winning barrister, academic, author, and public campaigner specialising in family law and the treatment of evidence in cases involving domestic abuse, coercive control, and gender-based violence. She is widely recognised for her courtroom advocacy and her role in shaping public and legal understanding of gaslighting and coercive control in family court proceedings. She has appeared in landmark cases and is ranked as a Leading Junior Barrister by Legal 500. In 2025, she was named Woman of the Year at the Women and Diversity in Law Awards.

Alongside her legal practice, Dr Proudman is an academic and commentator whose work bridges law, research, and public policy. She is the author of He Said, She Said: Truth, Trauma and the Struggle for Justice in the Family Court, which draws on real cases to examine how courts assess credibility, trauma, and power in family law disputes, and sets out a case for systemic reform. Her work extends beyond individual cases to include public advocacy, policy engagement, and national debate on accountability, judicial culture, and the need for structural change within the justice system.

Dr Adrienne Barnett is a Director of Right to Equality. She was called to the Bar of England and Wales in 1981 and practised at the independent Bar in London for over 30 years, specialising in family law. Her work focused on representing parents and children in serious public law care proceedings and private law cases involving allegations of domestic abuse. She is a door tenant at One Pump Court Chambers and is a Reader in Law, teaching Family Law and Children and the Law.

Dr Barnett has researched domestic abuse and family court proceedings for over 26 years, and more recently parental alienation. She has published widely and presented at conferences in the UK and internationally. In 2020, she was commissioned by the Ministry of Justice to undertake a literature review for its inquiry into domestic abuse and the family courts. She remains actively involved in policy reform and professional training, and holds advisory roles with Rights of Women, Cafcass, SHERA Research Network, Hague Mothers, and SafeLives.

One of the most powerful tools we have is sharing our stories and relating to others. This helps us understand what we’ve been through and our stories can be a source of strength and encouragement for others. Sharing past experiences can be a powerful form of unity and empowerment.

We do not take on individual cases or provide legal services.