Alongside Women’s Aid, and other major specialist organisations working on domestic and sexual abuse in family courts in England and Wales, Right to Equality has today issued a statement of intent on training to the Judicial College and Ministry of Justice. We are calling for regular and specialist training for the family judiciary to ensure that the pro-contact culture, which has been putting children and victims at risk, is finally brought to an end.
You can read our full statement here.
With domestic abuse present in 83% of private family court children’s cases, the Judicial College must also do more to ensure judges can identify and respond to the everyday business of their courts through the training they source.
Dr Adrienne Barnett, Right to Equality says Co-Director says: “We are deeply concerned that judicial training on domestic and sexual abuse has had no input from any of these leading specialists in the field. Right to Equality has consistently highlighted that specialist training designed with the experts and those with lived experience is essential to combatting the ‘contact at all costs’ culture in the family courts that is harming too many women and children”
Dr Charlotte Proudman, Right to Equality founder and barrister says: “The Government are taking positive action to improve the outcomes for children and victims in our family courts. Yet unless this action is accompanied by authentic culture change, reform will remain muted. That culture change must start at the top. It starts with judges.
We hope the Ministry of Justice and the Judicial College will carefully consider the core training principles we and sector colleagues have sent them today, and ensure our family courts are responding to the realities of abuse in women and children’s lives.”
For press enquiries or further information email info@righttoequality.org