Government action to protect children from abusive parents

The repeal is founded on the clear principle that every child deserves to be safe – yet new evidence published today shows that assuming it’s always in the best interest of a child to have the involvement of both parents can perpetuate abuse. 

Although the current law includes safeguards to restrict involvement where it’s detrimental to a child’s welfare, removing this law sends a clear signal that the Government is placing the wellbeing and safety of children at the forefront of decision making.

The change follows the tireless campaigning of Claire Throssell, whose children Jack and Paul were tragically killed by their abusive father 11 years ago this week. 

Deputy Prime Minister, David Lammy, said 

Every decision I make in the justice system will prioritise children’s safety, their wellbeing, and their right to grow up free from harm. 

Claire Throssell is simply remarkable. Her courage in the face of unimaginable tragedy, her determination to prevent other families from suffering as she has, and her relentless advocacy for children’s safety has been instrumental in bringing about this vital change. As we mark this important step forward in the law, I pay tribute to her sons, Jack and Paul, whose memory drives our commitment to ensuring no other child suffers a similar fate.

This reform is part of our broader Plan for Change – our mission to break down barriers to opportunity and give every child the best start in life. We are rebuilding trust in our justice system by putting victims first and ensuring that the protection of children is never compromised.

If parents are thought to be a threat to their child’s safety, involvement in their lives can be restricted, for example through courts ordering supervised contact, involvement limited to written communication, or by ordering that there should be no involvement at all.  

Claire Throssell, MBE, survivor ambassador of Women’s Aid, comments 

For almost a decade, Women’s Aid and I have worked together, campaigning to change the family courts and improve laws, to ensure that children at risk of further harm from abusive parents have a brighter, safer future, free from fear and oppression. Every child deserves to be heard, seen, supported, and believed; to have a childhood and to live.  

Successive governments have failed to protect children, standing by an outdated presumption that it is in a child’s best interests to have contact with both their parents, even when there have been allegations of domestic abuse.  We have campaigned tirelessly to have this presumption removed from the family law and practice, because until this narrative changes, more children, like Jack and Paul, will continue to die.  

Although today’s announcement can never bring back Jack and Paul it will give children further protection against preventable harm in their lives. No child should have to hold out a hand for help in darkness to a stranger and say that they have been hurt by someone who should love and protect them most. No parents should have to hold their children as they die, from the abuse of a perpetrator, as I did a decade ago. 

This is the latest action to tackle abuse in the Family Courts and improve the experience and outcomes for children. Earlier this year, the Government expanded a pilot of a novel approach to the family courts, known as “Pathfinder” courts, which aims to improve the court experience and outcomes for children and parents involved in private family law proceedings – including those who have experience of domestic abuse.   

Farah Nazeer, Chief Executive of Women’s Aid, said 

Women’s Aid warmly welcomes the decision to remove the presumption of contact in family court cases. This archaic presumption has put the lives of women and children at risk for far too long, and this must stop now.  

Contact with an abuser is deeply harmful to children, with it not only risking their physical and mental wellbeing, behaviour, and development, but also their lives, in the most extreme of cases. Decision makers need to recognise that abuse is a pattern of behaviours, and that the potential for escalation and risk of harm is there even after the parent’s relationship has ended.  Today’s decision is especially poignant, coming on the same day as the anniversary of Jack Throssell’s death, the son of our ambassador, Claire Throssell. Yesterday, we held an event in Parliament which commemorated Jack and Paul, as well as all the children who lost their lives and were silenced by the dangerous ‘pro-contact’ culture. 

Changes to the presumption are an important first step but with the existing ‘pro-contact’ culture being deep-rooted in the family courts, comprehensive action needs to be taken to overturn these dangerous attitudes and beliefs that are putting lives at risk. We urge both the government and family courts to engage with expert organisations like Women’s Aid, to ensure the creation of a family justice system that is safe for all adults and children through further implementation of the Harm Panel’s recommendations. 

Earlier this week, the Government also announced plans to automatically restrict the exercise of parental responsibility in cases where a person with parental responsibility has been convicted of a serious sexual offence against any child, and where a child is born of rape. Protecting both mothers and children, these amendments to the Victims and Courts Bill are crucial on the government’s mission to halve violence against women and girls in a decade. 

Justice Minister, Baroness Levitt KC, said 

The horrors of domestic abuse can scar a child for life. It is apparent from our research that the presumption of    parental involvement can, in some cases, lead to contact being ordered even in cases where there has been domestic abuse. Our priority must always be children’s welfare. Being a parent is a privilege not a right the only right which matters is a child’s right to safety and this government is determined to ensure that that is at the heart of every decision made about each and every child.

Repealing the presumption is a key part of our package of family court reforms which will protect children. 

I want to thank Claire Throssell who, despite the unimaginable loss of her sons Jack and Paul, has campaigned tirelessly to ensure no child goes to bed frightened. She is an inspiration.

Further information 

• You can find the Review of the Presumption of Parental Involvement online.

• The definition of parental involvement in the Children Act 1989 refers to any involvement of a parent in a child’s life, whether direct (such as the child seeing the parent face-to-face) or indirect. Direct involvement might be supervised or supported (such as via a contact centre) or unsupervised. 

• It is the decision of the court whether a parental involvement should be restricted in individual cases – based on.

• The Ministry of Justice will legislate to repeal the presumption of parental involvement when Parliamentary time allows.

• On the new restriction of the exercise of parental responsibility measures, convictions of serious sexual offences against a child must come with a sentence of four years or more.