Last week the Family Justice Council published guidance to help the Family Court respond to a child’s unexplained reluctance, resistance or refusal to spend time with a parent.
The Domestic Abuse Commissioner, Nicole Jacobs says, “The Family Justice Council’s new guidance has been long awaited and addresses the contentious issue of a child’s reluctance, resistance or refusal to spend time with a parent in an abuse-informed way that considers the wider context of abuse within a family.
“It is deeply encouraging to see that the guidance unequivocally recognises that allegations of ‘alienating behaviours’ are often exploited by perpetrators to avoid accountability and minimise the experiences of domestic abuse victims and survivors. This is in line with caselaw emerging from the Family Court. This form of abuse, re-victimisation and re-traumatisation cannot be permitted in the Family Court and is a key priority for my Office.
“Research commissioned by the Ministry of Justice indicates that domestic abuse is present in over 60% of Family Court cases. The Domestic Abuse Act 2021 requires the Family Court to be fully equipped to respond to domestic abuse, including the increasing use of retaliatory claims of ‘alienating behaviours’. Unfortunately, this strategy of litigation abuse has led to far too many cases of unsafe child contact and decisions being made which fail to centre the child’s best interests. However, I am encouraged by judgments such as Re GB [2024] which show an understanding of properly identifying coercive control where allegations of ‘alienating behaviours’ are made by domestic abuse perpetrators.
“I am pleased to see the President of the Family Division has welcomed this guidance, and applaud the efforts to addressing ways that the family justice system can be misused by abusers to continue and further their abuse post-separation.
“If implemented holistically, alongside Cafcass’ new Domestic Abuse Practice Policy and the child-centric practice emerging from Pathfinder Court pilots, this guidance has the potential to significantly improve outcomes for children and adult victims in the Family Court. The first step is embedding the guidance into training at all levels of the family justice system.
“The Family court should be a place of support and protection, with children’s safety paramount and their voices heard throughout. My report, The Family Court and domestic abuse: achieving cultural change, sets out in more detail my recommendations for change needed to do just that.”