A demonstration took place today (Monday, June 13) outside Bristol's Family Court as members of the Bristol Feminist Collective protested against decisions made by the court which they said "harm survivors of abuse and their children". The demonstration follows both an exposee in The Guardian (published on June 12) and a Channel 4 Dispatches programme, which aired last year and, the Collective said, showed police using force to remove children from their homes in the middle of the night and being taken to live with their fathers.
They also claimed that, when lawyers were asked about what was happening in the family courts, four out of five of those who responded said magistrates have a 'poor or very poor understanding of domestic abuse and coercive control' and added that one in three supposedly said that District Judges "also have a poor or very poor understanding of these issues".
The Collective believes that, as a result of this, courts are "ordering children to have contact with domestic abuse perpetrators. Behind closed doors and protected by secrecy, the courts are re-traumatising domestic abuse survivors and making decisions that harm children".
One member of the Bristol Feminist Collective, named only as Annie, said: "We will no longer stay silent and let Bristol Family Court and its lawmakers continue to abuse domestic abuse victims and fail their children. Through this peaceful demonstration we aim to raise awareness and hold Judge Wildblood and his court to account."
Stephen Wildblood is the designated family judge for Avon, North Somerset and Gloucestershire.
The Bristol Feminist Collective also said: "Bristol Family Court is no exception. Judges are enabling abusers to continue their abuse and control and we will no longer stand for it. The court is also failing to follow processes designed to protect victims."
They also spoke about a Bristol mother who had been through the Bristol Family Court and reportedly told the Collective: "Through court failures my abuser has been allowed to weaponise the family court system to continue a pattern of abuse long after I ended the relationship”.
The Bristol Feminist Collective detailed the demands they were making during Monday's demonstration as including 'compulsory training of judges on domestic abuse and greater transparency and accountability of judge's decisions'.
Bristol Live has approached Bristol Family Court for comment.
In a statement published in the Guardian yesterday about parental alienation cases in court, a spokesperson for the judiciary said: “The need for increased transparency must always be balanced against the need to protect the privacy of vulnerable children and families. The welfare of the child is paramount and remains at the heart of family court proceedings.”
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