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Child Contact and allegations of Domestic Abuse

A new research study has been published by the Scottish Civil Justice Hub entitled ‘Domestic Abuse and Child Contact: The Interface between Criminal and Civil Proceedings’. Funded by the Scottish Government, the project looked at the operation of Scots family law in cases of child contact that involved allegations of domestic abuse.

To understand the ways in which domestic abuse proceedings inform the handling of child contact cases, the researchers carried out a series of semi-structured interviews with legal practitioners.

The results of the report are summarised in eight essential themes, relating to the relationship between domestic abuse and coercive control, and twelve recommendations, informed by practitioners engaged in family law proceedings.

The eight principal conclusions are that:

• There is no systematic documentation of domestic abuse in civil court data, thus impairing the progress of civil proceedings, decreasing awareness of domestic abuse, and compromising the safety of the child and non-abusive parent.
• There is an inadequate perception of the way in which domestic abuse can detrimentally impact upon the welfare of a child.
• Matters of domestic abuse are not fully or adequately analysed during child contact cases.
• A child’s right to participate by expressing his or her own view is not being consistently promoted.
• An assumption is frequently made that supervised contact defends children from emotional injury.
• There are shortcomings in the implementation of risk assessments and safety planning.
• Criminal proceedings about domestic abuse and civil processes regarding child contact operate in isolation rather than relaying important information between each setting.
• There is a scarcity of reliable, accessible, and consistent data pertaining to civil justice.

The twelve recommendations are that:

1. Concerns about domestic abuse should be intimated as promptly as possible.
2. Cases involving allegations of domestic abuse should be identified on family court databases.
3. All sheriffs should complete mandatory training in domestic abuse, coercive control, and the ramifications for children.
4. The relevance of domestic abuse should be incorporated into pleadings, Child Welfare Hearings, and proofs so that the court has appropriate time to evaluate the impact.
5. Thought should be given to the importance of recognising the right of the child to present his or her personal view for the consideration of the court.
6. Guidance on the nature of supervised and supported contact should be issued at a national level.
7. Child contact arrangements applied by the court should assure the safety of the child and the parent with whom the child is living.
8. Decisions on contact should prioritise the welfare of the child and encompass a judgement on whether or not the non-residential parent could be of benefit to the child.
9. A co-ordinated and integrated framework should embrace the civil and criminal justice systems in situations whether the same family is involved.
10. Courts should acquire risk assessments of the effects of exposure to domestic abuse on the wellbeing of the child.
11. A programme of research should be commissioned into the treatment of domestic abuse within Child Welfare Hearings.
12. Statistical data being collected for civil cases involving domestic abuse and child contact should be reviewed.

Details of the full report are available here. It will be interesting to see what, if anything, the Scottish Government will do with the conclusions of the report.