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Child First, Not Parental Rights: Child Focused Courts. 

  • Deanna Newell
  • Mar 20
  • 2 min read

The nationwide rollout of Child Focused Courts across England and Wales is a breakthrough. Finally, the system recognises what survivors of domestic abuse have always known: children’s safety and wellbeing must come first.


But let’s be clear,  speed alone does not protect children or survivors.


THE REALITY THAT FAMILIES FACE


Family court delays aren’t just frustrating, they’re harmful.


Every month a case drags on exposes children to:-


  • Emotional instability

  • Ongoing parental conflict

  • Financial strain

  • Psychological trauma


And some of the worst abuse is invisible. It doesn’t leave bruises or headlines. It’s coercive control, domestic abuse, financial manipulation, and legal exploitation.


Post-separation abuse is real, ongoing, and devastating. Courts must recognise that abuse evolves, not ends, after separation.


SURVIVORS SPEAK: ABUSE CONTINUES IN COURTROOMS


Domestic abuse survivors know this truth: coercion doesn’t stop when the relationship ends. It continues through:-


  • Repeated court applications designed to exhaust the protective parent

  • Manipulation of child arrangements to maintain control

  • Withholding child maintenance or hiding assets

  • Emotional abuse that undermines a parent and destabilises children


Every delay, every ignored warning, every assumption that “both parents must be involved” is harm. Children absorb the stress. Parents are exhausted. Justice is postponed.


WHY CHILD FOCUSED COURTS MATTER


Child Focused Courts finally recognise that safety and wellbeing outweigh automatic parental rights. This is huge:-


  • Safety first: Children should never be forced into unsafe relationships.

  • Faster decisions: Cases can be resolved months sooner, reducing conflict and trauma.

  • Recognition of invisible abuse: Emotional, financial, and coercive harm can now be seen as real safeguarding issues.


For survivors, this is validation,  and a path to real protection.


THE GAPS THAT STILL PUT CHILDREN AT RISK


Even Child Focused Courts can fail if the system isn’t trained and evidence-based.


Without proper understanding:-


  • Subtle coercion may be missed

  • Financial abuse may go unchallenged

  • Children could be placed in unsafe situations faster


Abuse is clever, quiet, and persistent. Courts must be trained to see it clearly.


MORE ACCOUNTABILITY, MORE EVIDENCE


For this system to truly protect children:-


  1. Trained courts – Judges, lawyers, and social workers must recognise coercion, manipulation, and financial abuse.


  1. Evidence-based decisions – Both parents should provide a checklist of evidence: finances, child contact history, conflict records.


  1. Child-first focus – Safety and stability must always outweigh automatic parental rights.


  1. Financial abuse as safeguarding – Poverty caused by abuse is harm to the child.


  1. Ongoing protection – Abuse must be treated as persistent, not “historical.”


Faster courts are meaningless if they cannot see the reality of abuse.


THE SURVIVOR-FIRST


Child Focused Courts are a step forward for survivors and children alike. They promise faster, safer, and more child-focused outcomes.


But speed is not enough. For real protection:-


  •  Courts must be trained in coercion and post-separation abuse

  •  Financial abuse must be treated as a safeguarding issue

  •  Evidence checklists should be provided by both parents

  •  Children’s safety must always outweigh parental rights


This isn’t just reform. It’s a chance to finally listen to survivors, act on evidence, and protect children from ongoing harm.


Because abuse doesn’t end at separation,  

and neither should the fight to keep children safe.

Deanna Newell Family Law

Advocacy for truth-tellers, survivors, and the children who deserve better

 
 
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