Family law shift hailed as victory for children facing domestic abuse

A landmark change in law means family courts will no longer work on the presumption that contact with both parents is in the best interests of a child. Photograph: andreswd/Getty Images

The family courts will no longer work on the presumption that having contact with both parents is in the best interests of a child, in a landmark change that domestic abuse campaigners have said “will save so many children’s lives”.

The move has been heralded as “groundbreaking” by family lawyers and campaigners who have long argued that the “pro-contact culture” in the family courts places the rights of abusive fathers over the safety and wellbeing of children.