An online event taking place on Thursday will highlight the way family courts in England and Wales handle domestic violence cases on the ground.

Despite ongoing policy and law-based efforts in recent years to raises awareness about domestic abuse and how it affects children and families in the UK, family courts have not managed to provide a uniform and competent service to tackle this form of violence.

The free online event has been organised by Support Not Separation — an organisation run by Legal Action for Women — and Barnet Women’s Equality Party, and is titled “Domestic abuse & the treatment of mothers & children behind the closed doors of the Family Court.”

The event will be chaired by Christine Dean, the deputy leader of the Women’s Equality Party. The page for this event says Dean has more than 25 years’ experience as a family lawyer.

Panellists include Nihal Ates, a member of Solace Women’s Aid, Barnet, which provides support to survivors of domestic abuse in the borough and Anne Neale, a member of Legal Action for Women, an organisation which describes itself as “a grassroots anti-sexist, anti-racist legal service for all women.”

The event is taking place September 23, 2021, from 7:00pm to 8pm.

You can book your ticket here.

For questions about the event, you can email Olivia and Lisa at: barnet@womensequality.org.uk

The event is free to attend, but the booking site says donations are welcome.