When “Michelle’s” ex-partner broke his hand, she knew enough was enough.
A line has been crossed. The abuse has been emotional, coercive and now physical. Her and her son’s safety was now compromised.
Out of fear, Michelle – not her real name – decided that any contact between father and son should be supervised.
Michelle’s ex-partner, however, wanted unsupervised contact with his son. He backed down – and what followed were four years of legal proceedings.
Michelle and other activists like her are calling on the government to end the presumption of contact between parents and children.
On Monday, they will present a report to the government with recommendations to change the law.
Your main demand? So that contact with parents is gained – and not simply handed over to abusers.
Currently, under UK law, there is no general prohibition on an abusive adult having contact with their children.
Under the Children Act 1989, there is a presumption of contact between parents and children when adults separate – to the benefit of the child.
However, according to Michelle, this is not always the case.
“The judicial system,” she told Sky News, “was as abusive as my ex-partner. I had an agenda to promote unsupervised contact at any cost, despite my medical and police evidence. [of harm].”
“For me, I was living in Victorian times, that my son belonged to my partner and that I had to do what he wanted.
“It’s a very misogynistic system… that no matter what the circumstances are – children will always have contact with their parents.
“But it shouldn’t be at any cost…”
‘No father is better than an abusive father’
Dr. Charlotte Proudman is leading the campaign.
Dr. Charlotte Proudman, lawyer and founder of Right to Equality, is leading the campaign
The lawyer and founder of non-profit organization Right to Equality told Sky News: “In my opinion, no parent is better than an abusive parent.
“Even if a parent is a rapist, a child sex offender, has committed abuse, there is a presumption that they should have regular contact with their child, which could mean, in some cases, that the child is having unsafe contact with a dangerous person.
“Arguing against this can cost enormous amounts of money and take a significant amount of time, even years.”
‘I shouldn’t be the exception… this should be standard’
This is something Conservative MP Kate Kniveton knows all too well.
Conservative MP Kate Kniveton won landmark case against her ex-partner
She told Sky News she suffered 10 years of abuse from her ex-husband – a former MP.
The family court made findings of rape and sexual abuse, which he denies.
Kniverton has won a landmark case against his ex-partner, which now means he is barred from direct contact with his son.
Therefore, she supports the recommendations to change the law in order to protect both women and children.
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She said: “The result we got with my son was great… my son is protected.
“But I shouldn’t be the exception…This should be standard in many cases.
“You heard that contact was ordered despite the greatest abuse of power.
“It’s really important that the government hears this and overturns this presumption to protect children.”
From Friday, the government announced that pedophile rapists will have their rights to contact their own children automatically removed.
But this current campaign aims to put an end to the assumption that parents can contact their children even when they are guilty of domestic violence, sexual abuse or child abuse.
In a statement, a Ministry of Justice spokesperson told Sky News: “The safety of children is absolutely paramount and judges already have wide powers to block parental involvement where there is a risk to the child.
“We continue to review our approach to parental access to ensure all children are protected from harm.”
This story originally appeared on News.sky.com read the full story
