For our tenth episode, the Voice of the Child looks at how the UK Family Courts’ handling of the Coronavirus outbreak has affected child contact for families in child protection cases.
While guidance on what parents should do in relation to child arrangements orders (typically made in private family law cases) during the outbreak has been given by the President of the Family Division, very little has been done to address the massive council and contact centre closures which have impacted children’s access to their birth parents in public family law cases.
Sarah* a mother who has recently been through the family courts for child protection proceedings, explains how her court-ordered contact has been put on hold and the significant issues within her case which have led up to this moment.
Sarah also gives the Family Courts an important message at the end of the interview.
A very big thank you to Sarah for bravely taking part in the programme which was particularly emotional, and for being on the front line in the fight against COVID-19. Sarah is an NHS nurse currently working during the Coronavirus outbreak.
You can listen to the Voice of the Child here.
*Sarah is not the mother’s real name.
Researching Reform 
In private law proceedings my daughter was removed from me and her 2 siblings who live with me my daughter is 6-years old we are meant to have contact every 3-weeks for overnight and weekly phone calls she was moved from Britain to the Republic of Ireland and at one of the contacts we had she was showing clear signs of sexual abuse as well as emotional abuse rocking herself and having blood in her knickers she told her sister that she was being abused by her dad this was all reported social services now the police know and yet I haven’t got the chance to see my daughter since July my children think the sister is dead my children are 10 and 11 and I’m being told over and over again even though there is Court orders for contact and there is clear signs of abuse no one will help me.. my baby girl needs to be saved she needs to be safe if and I don’t know why she is being let down when it was recorded by contact social workers wrote down all of the things I am saying my daughter having blood in her underwear scratching crying not able to walk I was threatened with if I call the police about my daughter they would remove my two children who live with me for emotionally abusing them if I called the police I had to wait until my daughter was gone to ring the police and let them know what happened and still nothing has been done… my daughter is 6 and no six-year-old should be left like that and she doesn’t even know why she was removed from my care removed from her siblings she only met her dad on three occasions through supervised contact and he was given my daughter my two children who live with me don’t understand what they did wrong why did they have to lose their baby sister that they love we all love she was cared for no one wanted to explain this to any of us and I’m trying my best to try and get someone to help but every door keeps getting closed in my face I don’t know what to do
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We have been through exactly the same, thank you natasha for the podcast, I had to cry , know how it feels for her and most of all the children, we are completely cut off, we just want our children home where they belong xxx
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xxxxx
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All court proceedings have finished and no court order has been made forbidding comment so the names may be revealed though I will understand Natasha if you redact them any way ! [edited] requested me to publish her letter and I CAN SUPPLY HER PHONE NUMBER IF YOU WISH TO TALK TO HER ;
This letter below is a classic example of branding a mother as a criminal on nothing more than instinct ! Police expressed no interest whatever but the judge used the infamous excuse of “more likely than not”.
Dear Ian.
My name is [edited]. I have 2 children, [edited] who is 2 and [edited] who is 1. I was pregnant with [edited] when care proceedings began. Initially my daughter was taken into foster care as she had an unexplained head injury in November 2018(this was after already having an unexplained arm injury in May 2018 which SS closed as her fathers lack of supervision and parenting capability). I then had my son 10 days after proceedings and he was placed in foster care. My mother shortly after completed all her assessments and both children were moved to reside with her so they could live together as siblings. My daughter [edited] now lives with her father under a Child Arrangements Order and my son now lives with my mother under a special guardianship order.
The judge deemed on the balance of probabilities, I caused both injuries my daughter received, the 1st injury in May which I was never investigated for, and the second injury in November 2018. She made this decision on the basis that I was in a long distance relationship, tired, hormonal due to being pregnant, parenting on my own and stressed.
This isn’t true. I have not hurt my child. I am absolutely desperate to get my children back but I am just fighting a loosing battle. I can not even begin to explain the torture that they have put me through for the last 18 months. I need help from someone who won’t abuse my trust.
Please call me on xxxxxxxxx
Thank you,
[edited]
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Hi Ian, thanks for your comment. Redacting here as I would need to speak to the mother direct, read the files and then make a judgment call, which unfortunately is not something I can always do. The letter is up though, and offers some thought provoking insight.
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My daughter was sent to live in the republic of Ireland with her dad who she only met 3 times was separated from me and her 2 siblings who live with me me she is the baby of my family there was no concerns for her care and now since she has been gone on my daughter has been showing signs of sexual abuse and no one will help the courts know it and I’ve been told that it does not matter no one is going to help her I have not had contact with my daughter since July and there’s orders in place that she’s meant to have contact with us every 3-weeks phone contact everything and he has broken it all and no one will help this is British family courts
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[edited] Family Court has given my baby girl who is 6 to a man who raped me to live in the [edited] where I cannot fight the case I meant to see my child every 3-weeks and speak to her every week none of this has happened since July because she came to contact I have her sibling to still live with me me and she was showing signs of abuse sexual and emotional and nothing has happened this is left me completely devastated I don’t know what to do or where to turn to
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