Welcome to September.

An expert leading an abuse and violence research programme in Australia has spoken out about the ways in which victims of domestic violence are sometimes  wrongly diagnosed with psychological disorders, due to ongoing trauma they may be experiencing after an abusive relationship has ended.

Some of the symptoms which cause confusion are:

• Erratic behaviours related to post traumatic stress disorder as a result of the abuse
• An inability to relay facts coherently whilst the perpetrator appears calm and rational by comparison
• Misunderstandings arising out of differing expectations on what it means to be a good, protective parent: Child protection staff may expect the abused parent to prevent all contact with the abuser, whereas the family court expects the victimised parent to facilitate access to children, with that parent then being criticised for opposing this

Our question then, is just this: do you think the difficulties above, exist inside the UK Family Court too?