One survivor told researchers: ‘I was belittled, undermined, exposed to my abusive ex repeatedly, my children were not listened to and it felt like father’s rights trumped mine and negated his history of domestic violence.’
The report, ‘Understanding court support for victims of domestic abuse’, published last week, was carried out by UK charity SafeLives.
Survivors said a lack of understanding of domestic abuse in the court process and the attitudes of court professionals had an adverse impact on their experience. They highlighted poor safeguarding and special measures, as well as other safety concerns including that ‘perpetrators were using the system for coercive control’.
Dedicated support by Independent Domestic Abuse Advisors (IDVAs) was the most commonly cited intervention that would improve survivors’ experiences. However, 89% of survivors get no support when they go through the family courts and 71% get not help in the criminal courts.
Commissioner Nicole Jacobs called for all survivors navigating the court system to be given access to IDVAs.
Read the report here
