Practice Direction 12J: What Every Survivor Needs to Know

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What Is PD12J?

PD12J is not optional. It’s the law.

If abuse is raised in family court, this rule must be followed. When it’s not, lives are put at risk.

Practice Direction 12J (PD12J) is a legal safeguard in child contact cases. It tells judges exactly how to deal with domestic abuse allegations — and what must happen before contact with an abusive parent is even considered.

PD12J covers:-

• Coercive control

• Financial and economic abuse

• Emotional and psychological abuse

• Sexual abuse

• Physical violence

It makes clear: Children exposed to abuse are victims — not just witnesses.

Why It Matters

Too often, family courts rush to force contact with abusive parents — ignoring trauma, ignoring risk, ignoring reality.

PD12J says: No contact unless it’s safe. Period.

• No presumption of contact where there’s a risk of harm

• No dismissing abuse just because it isn’t physical

• No pressure on survivors to “cooperate” with their abuser

This isn’t about parental rights. It’s about child safety.

Why Risk Assessments Matter

Abuse isn’t always visible.

Risk assessments help uncover:-

• Ongoing patterns of control (not isolated incidents)

• Threats that persist post-separation

• The emotional and psychological impact on the child

But they’re often missed or mishandled because:-

• Professionals lack training on coercive control

• Post-COVID backlogs overwhelm the system

• The myth of “contact at all costs” still dominates

• False claims of “parental alienation” are weaponised

• Abusers manipulate the system with lies and charm

When PD12J Is Ignored

• Survivors are retraumatised

• Children are exposed to danger

• Abusers gain power through the court process

This isn’t just a legal failure — it’s a safeguarding crisis.

Survivors shouldn’t have to teach the system how to protect them.

How to Use PD12J to Protect Yourself and Your Child

Quote it in court

Demand a fact-finding hearing if abuse is denied

Say no to unsafe interim contact

Request a trauma-informed, evidence-based risk assessment

Keep repeating: Safety comes before contact. Always.

Key Legal Points from PD12J

• Paras 2–3: Abuse includes coercive control, emotional, financial, sexual, and physical harm. A child who witnesses abuse is a victim.

• Paras 16–20: Where abuse is alleged, the court must consider holding a fact-finding hearing.

• Para 25: Interim contact must not be ordered if risk to the child or parent exists.

• Para 36: No contact should be ordered unless it can be carried out safely.

Final Word: It’s Time to Re-Educate the System

If you’re a judge, solicitor, CAFCASS officer, or social worker:

PD12J is not guidance. It’s the law.

• Stop brushing off coercive control.

• Stop treating abuse survivors as “difficult”.

• Stop forcing contact when children are unsafe.

It’s not the job of survivors to educate professionals.

It’s time for the system to re-educate itself — before more lives are damaged.

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Deanna Newell Family Law

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