Everyday Business: Addressing domestic abuse and continuing harm through a family court review and reporting mechanism

<p dir="ltr">In 2020, the Ministry of Justice’s Harm Panel Report recommended the establishment of a national review and reporting mechanism within the office of the Domestic Abuse Commissioner to maintain oversight of and report regularly on the family courts’ performance in protecting children and adult victims from domestic abuse and other risks of harm in private law children’s proceedings. The objectives of the review and reporting mechanism are to increase accountability, improve transparency and identify and disseminate best practice in child arrangements cases involving allegations of domestic abuse, to ensure consistency in delivering safer processes and outcomes in accordance with the broader recommendations of the Harm Panel. A pilot for the mechanism was designed, comprising of two strands: a scoping exercise of existing administrative data and an intensive study at three court sites, which would both test the design and research methods for rollout of the mechanism and provide baseline data from the courts in the pilot against which future progress could be measured. This report outlines the findings and recommendations of the Family Court Reporting and Review Mechanism (FCRRM) pilot, which began in September 2023.</p><h2>Acknowledgements</h2><p dir="ltr">We are grateful to all the research participants who generously shared their time and experiences: the victims/survivors, their support workers, the judiciary, court staff and Cafcass/Cafcass Cymru Family Court Advisors. Thanks also to those who helped to guide the project and facilitate access. The pilot was carried out in partnership with a team of senior researchers in the Office of the Domestic Abuse Commissioner, and we are grateful to the Commissioner and her team for their dedication and hard work</p>