Welcome to another week.
The Survivor Family Network, University College London and Brunel university will be hosting an all-day conference titled “Child Friendly Family Courts: The Way Forward” which will be focused on Family Court and Hague Convention cases featuring allegations of domestic violence. The hosts say the conference will allow experts to share proposed solutions to the problems raised by these cases.
The event, which is free to attend, features prominent experts Reem Alsalem, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, and barrister Dr. Charlotte Proudman.
The conference will also feature survivors’ experiences.
The Eventbrite page for the conference says: “This full-day conference aims to assist professionals in developing a deeper understanding of current issues for child and adult survivors of domestic abuse involved in family court and Hague Convention proceedings, and how law and practice could be transformed to develop a trauma-informed family justice system that prioritises their needs and welfare and amplifies the voice of the child.”
The page adds: “The prevalence of domestic abuse in private law family court proceedings involving disputes between divorcing or separating couples over post-separation arrangements for their children is considerably higher than in the general population. Annually, up to an estimated 32,400 child arrangements cases in England and Wales involve domestic abuse. A substantial body of research shows that child contact arrangements can be the key site for continued, more serious abuse. In the international context, latest statistics show that 88% of ‘taking’ parents involved in proceedings under the 1980 Hague Convention are primary carers, the vast majority of whom are mothers, and it is estimated that 75% of Hague Convention cases involve allegations of domestic abuse.”
The full list of speakers is added below:
Reem Alsalem, United Nations Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls
Professor Rosemary Hunter, Kent University
Danielle Pollack, National Family Violence Law Center, Goerge Washington University
Dr. Charlotte Proudman, Goldsmith Chambers and Founder of Right to Equality
Panel 1: Lawfare and Post Separation Abuse
Chair: Natalie Page, Survivor Family Network
Kathryn Spearman, John Hopkins School of Nursing
Dr. Aleisha Ebrahimi, UCL School of Law and Senior Policy Advisor of the Domestic Abuse Comissioner
Dr. Emma Katz, Associate Professor, Durham University
Panel 2: Child Removal – survivors
Chair: Dr. Sonja Ayeb-Karlsson, Associate Professor, UCL
Dr. Rachael Grey, CEO Founder of Project Lighthouse
Survivors
Panel 3: Hague Abduction Convention and Migration
Chair: Kim Fawcett, Lecturer, Brunel University London
Dr. Adrienne Barnett, Reader, Brunel University London
Anita Gera, Hague Explained CIC
Dr. Sonja Ayeb-Karlsson, Associate Professor, UCL
The event takes place on Saturday 11 November, from 10am to 5pm at UCL.
Places can be booked through the Eventbrite page.