Occupation Orders

Family Law Week publishes an interesting article this week on the recent case of Grubb v Grubb which concerns an appeal against the granting of an occupation order ousting a husband from the matrimonial home. The article appears here and the transcript here. I am going to take a slightly different slant on that case [...]

Domestic Violence Against Men

The One Show tonight ran a piece on men as victims of domestic violence, including a brief interview with Erin Pizey founder of the women’s refuge movement. This issue is not often enough highlighted, and as reported on the show there are many reasons why it is likely to be underreported – both embarrasment and [...]

Punishing the Victim

This news story about the imprisonment of a woman giving testimony about an alleged rape does not make happy reading. It appears that the Scottish judge imprisoned her for contempt of court when she objected to questions about her sexual history and broke down in the witness box, unable to continue. I find it hard [...]

Making a meal of it

Myself and another legal rep were a little taken aback to be told recently that we were ‘making a meal of it’, ‘it’ being the alleged assaults by a father upon his children by blows to the head. Not – apparently - a child protection concern because the kids, now just in double digits, don’t present as frightened. Well [...]

Crisis Centres in Crisis

Now THAT’s what the EHRC is FOR…Actually making people sit up and think about things.

The Unverifiable Truth

Another article from Camilla Cavendish at The Times today about Family Justice. And again more heart rending tales of injustice which are completely unverifiable. She writes of Ann who was accused by her violent ex husband of having Munchausens by proxy (Fabricated or induced illness) – on the basis of her account it seems a [...]

Why Women’s Aid?

I’m raising money for Women’s Aid through attempting the Bristol Half Marathon in September. Want to know a bit more about them? . Women’s Aid is a national charity which co-ordinates and supports a network of over 370 local domestic violence organisations, providing over 500 refuges, helplines, outreach services and advice centres. They work in partnership with [...]

Absent Mothers

Just to note an interesting article in Tuesday’s T2 section of The Times about Mothers living apart from their children. It deals with various scenarios including the all too familiar example of a mother leaving an abusive relationship where, by the time she has got herself on her feet and obtained accommodation for herself and [...]

The Forced Marriage (Civil Protection) Act 2007

Last week the Ministry of Justice announced a consultation on the Forced Marriage (Civil Protection) Act 2007 which is due to come into force in the autumn of this year (date to be appointed). It will be enacted by way of amendments to Part IV of the Family Law Act 1996, which contain existing powers [...]