Earlier this month, Cafcass (the Child & Family Court Advisory Support Service) published a new Domestic Abuse Practice Policy, which is set to facilitate the more effective protection of domestic abuse victims within Children Act proceedings. It reflects the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 and applies to all Family Court Advisers, Children’s Guardians, and their managers. The key points of the new policy are discussed below.
Identifying domestic abuse victims
Practitioners must specify whether they consider a child to be a victim of domestic abuse. According to the Domestic Abuse Act 2021, a child is a victim if they see, hear, or experience the effects of domestic abuse and are related to, or cared for by an adult with parental responsibility who is either being abused or the perpetrator of the abuse. Therefore, before making any recommendations Cafcass officers must analyse the risk of harm and the impact the abuse has had on the child, as well as the impact on the parent victim.
No more references to domestic abuse ‘allegations’ and ‘claims’
When working with children and families, Family Court Advisers and Children’s Guardians must not use language such as ‘claims’ or ‘alleges’ in relation to domestic abuse. Instead, practitioners are to use the victims’ own words in their reports to the court. This will ensure that the analysis of any proposed arrangements is more informed, whilst validating the experience of victims living with the trauma caused by the abuse. The policy also notes that practitioners must not reinterpret or reword the experience of victims. Additionally, Practitioners must not be dismissive of historical abuse and one-off incidents, but instead work towards creating a safe relationship with victims.
Recommendations in relation to sexual offences – a new starting point
When the victim is a child, practitioners must assess their safety and welfare in light of their experience and vulnerability, as well as the abuser’s behaviour. In addition, Cafcass officers must consider the evidence and information provided at the time. The new policy stipulates that where a parent is being investigated, has a conviction or has served a sentence for a sexual offence, the starting point for practitioners is to recommend for the child not to spend time with that parent. Any departure from the starting point must be supported by a compelling rationale and must be noted in the case record.
Clear and compelling rationales
Practitioners must provide a ‘clear, unequivocal, and compelling rationale’ for disregarding the risk of harm to the child when recommending ‘time with’ or ‘live with’ arrangements for children who have previously disclosed domestic abuse to them. Furthermore, parental supervision of ‘time with’ arrangements should never be recommended where the supervising parent has disclosed abuse by the other parent.
Assessing domestic abusers
Practitioners must not recommend that a child spends time with a parent who has been abusive without evidence that the parent:
- Recognises the harm their behaviour has caused the victims,
- Has taken responsibility for the harm they have caused,
- Has taken action to sustain change in their attitude and to stop their harmful behaviour and this has been demonstrated over time, and
- The risk of them exhibiting abusive behaviour has been removed to the point of enabling a recommendation that family time is now in the child’s best interests.
As above, any departure from this starting point must be supported by a compelling rationale.
Parental alienation
When assessing the reasons why a child does not want to see a parent following separation, and particularly where a parent alleges ‘parental alienation’, practitioners must first consider whether the child’s refusal is due to domestic abuse and harmful parenting.
The new practice policy is in line with Cafcass’ Domestic Abuse Practice Improvement Programme, which was published in June 2021. It was put in place to tackle persistent ‘errors in judgment’ and showcases Cafcass’ commitment to improvement. Domestic abuse, particularly in relation to children, is a sensitive and often complex issue. The policy promotes the thorough investigation and analysis of abuse and harm, which is certainly a step in the right direction.
