Survey: Domestic abuse and child contact – the processes in practice

Scotland has an ambitious agenda for modernising child law, delivering children’s rights and placing children at the centre of decision making. It also aims to be world-leading in tackling domestic abuse. In both respects, recent years have seen considerable reform. But how well does the legislation work in practice and, in particular, what happens when the criminal law approach to domestic abuse interacts with the civil law approach to children and child contact?  

The recent Children (Scotland) Act 2020 aims to enhance the participation of children in child contact matters. It also seeks to strengthen the protection of children affected by domestic abuse. In the debates and committees which preceded this new legislation, legal professionals and other stakeholders provided evidence to Parliament about what was and was not working in current practice. In evidence, submissions provided examples or described anecdotally, what they saw as normal practice. It was rare, however, that the authors were able to draw on robust data because such information is rarely collected and published. 

As we move into implementation of the Children (Scotland) Act 2020 and further work taking forward the family justice modernisation strategy, having such information about the processes of child contact matters is crucial.

Academics Dr Ruth Friskney, Professor Michele Burman, Professor Jane Mair and Professor Richard Whitecross want to know about the interface, if any, with criminal justice processes and what information professionals do and do not have access to. They are conducting a short survey with solicitors and would love to hear the different experiences of both criminal defence and family lawyers. They want to hear about the processes and the practices that happen daily but are rarely visible.

If you have experience working on child contact matters where there are allegations of domestic abuse, please complete the survey to share your understanding of how processes currently work. 

You can read more here or can contact Dr Friskney (ruth.friskney@glasgow.ac.uk) if you have any questions.