White Ribbon Day, Domestic Abuse and Access to Children

White Ribbon Day, Domestic Abuse and Access to Children

The Significance of White Ribbon Day

White Ribbon Day is set for 25 November 2025, a brilliant international initiative with the aim of “engaging men and boys to prevent men’s violence against women and girls”.  Whilst it continues to fall to such charities to do the heavy lifting in this area, given the lack of necessary funding available, it remains important to continue to hold the Government and the courts of this country to account. This is necessary in terms of what they are doing to ensure the work towards the prevention and stamping out of domestic abuse, of all kinds, continues.

Findings From Recent Reports – Why is Change Needed?

Earlier this year, the Domestic Abuse Commissioner published a report entitled “Everyday business: Addressing domestic abuse and continuing harm through a family court review and reporting mechanism” which highlighted the continued prevalence of domestic abuse in Family Court cases (nearly 90% of cases reviewed by the Commissioner identified it as an issue).

The report followed the 2020 Ministry of Justice Report “Assessing risk of harm to children and parents in private law children cases” which led to the launch of a pilot in 2023 to obtain data from three court sites in England and Wales during 2024.  The pilot reviewed nearly 300 child arrangements order case files and live observations of around 100 hearings.  It conducted focus groups with domestic abuse survivors and interviews with Judges, magistrates and CAFCASS officers.

Evidence of domestic abuse was identified in 73% of hearings and 87% of case files.  However, it found that abuse was frequently not taken seriously when considering contact arrangements. The structural barriers identified included:

• the pro-contact culture
• the adversarial nature of the court system; and
• resource limitations.

All these are seen as continuing to impact safe and effective responses to domestic abuse allegations.

Domestic Abuse Survivors’ Experiences

Survivors repeatedly described how they were dissuaded from raising allegations of domestic abuse due to the suggestion that it would have ‘no impact’ on whether the abusive parent would be granted contact. Others said they felt pressured into accepting potentially unsafe child arrangement orders out of fear that if they contested, an even worse outcome would be granted.

Government Response and Proposed Legal Change

In response to this report, in October 2025, the government announced its plan to repeal the presumption of parental involvement from the Children Act.

s1(2A) sets out that when making, varying or discharging a section 8 order a court shall “presume, unless the contrary is shown, that involvement of that parent in the life of the child concerned will further the child’s welfare”.

Following the reports carried out, a press release on 22 October reported;

“The repeal is founded on the clear principle that every child deserves to be safe – yet new evidence published today shows that assuming it’s always in the best interest of a child to have the involvement of both parents can perpetuate abuse.

Although the current law includes safeguards to restrict involvement where it’s detrimental to a child’s welfare, removing this law sends a clear signal that the Government is placing the wellbeing and safety of children at the forefront of decision making.”

Justice Minister, Baroness Levitt KC, said:

“The horrors of domestic abuse can scar a child for life. It is apparent from our research that the presumption of parental involvement can, in some cases, lead to contact being ordered even in cases where there has been domestic abuse. Our priority must always be children’s welfare. Being a parent is a privilege not a right: the only right which matters is a child’s right to safety and this government is determined to ensure that that is at the heart of every decision made about each and every child.”

Reactions and Concerns

Campaigners have described the decision to remove the legal presumption of parental involvement as “momentous”. However, the devil, as always, is in the detail. The Ministry of Justice has said it will legislate to do this “when Parliamentary time allows”.  Query how long this will take to make it into (or rather out of) the statute books.

Some might also suggest that removing this presumption should be accompanied by changes to long-standing assumptions and beliefs deeply embedded in a legal system that has only very recently begun to recognise the prevalence of domestic abuse. They might say it is now even more important that professionals fully understand the signs and impacts of abuse within families.

The report highlighted how outdated views on domestic abuse amongst some legal professionals are. It saw physical violence taken more seriously, while coercive and controlling behaviour – which often underpins physical abuse and is an offence in itself – was frequently dismissed.

The Chief Executive of Women’s Aid has called for “specialist domestic and sexual abuse training to be mandated for judges, in recognition of the fact that years of pro-contact culture will take time and education to reverse, and to ensure that preventable mistakes are avoided and both women and child survivors are kept safe.’

Looking Ahead

Whilst such changes must be applauded and not go unrecognised there is clearly still a very long way to go.  As Domestic Abuse Commissioner, Dame Nicoel Jacobs, said: “It’s clear that domestic abuse can no longer be considered a side issue within the family justice system but instead its everyday business that demands a rigorous response.”

I, for one, will be continuing to keep a watching eye on Government and the court system and supporting any initiatives that make even some move to achieving this.

You can take personal action by making the White Ribbon Promise – committing to never use, excuse, or remain silent about men’s violence against women. This promise encourages each of us to actively challenge attitudes and behaviours that perpetuate abuse, to speak out when we witness it, and to support survivors in our communities. Learn more and take the pledge at whiteribbon.org.uk.