Category Archives: Children

28 November 2025 9:30 ~ Staying Attached: Fathers and Children in Troubled Times – Supporting Relationships and Families (SRF) 25th Annual Conference – London

  • From 9.30am – 4.00pm
  • @ Bethnal Green Meeting House, Pott Street, London E2 0EF

Speakers: Christa Welsh, Royston John, Gill Gorell Barnes and Alan Cooklin

  • The Conference Fee is £65, SRF members £45, students £40.
    Your delegate fee includes refreshments and a hot Caribbean lunch.
  • There is an early bird discount of £5 if you book before 17 November.
    See https://www.serefo.org.uk/events.html

For further information, please email serefo.info@gmail.com

About SRF

SRF, (formerly known as Separation and Reunion Forum), is a membership organisation, dedicated to raising awareness of the long-lasting traumatic effects on the emotional well-being of young children and families who have experienced broken attachments, separation and loss.

We also aim to highlight the need for sensitive counselling and therapeutic services to break the circle of insecure attachments, and the inter-generational nature of attachment patterns in families.

Website https://www.serefo.org.uk/

November 17, 2025

‘Child prostitution’ convictions to be expunged – Home Office

New measures in the Crime and Policing Bill will disregard and pardon unjust ‘child prostitution’ convictions and cautions received before the law changed in 2015.

Victims of child exploitation and abuse will finally get long-overdue justice, as the government on 4 November 2025) tabled amendments to the Crime and Policing Bill to disregard and pardon ‘child prostitution’ convictions.

The new amendments acknowledge the appalling injustice faced by victims of child sexual exploitation, who instead of being supported as victims, were criminalised for actions that occurred under duress, fear and coercion. In many such cases, the true criminals — the adults who exploited them — escaped prosecution, while the victims were left with the stain of permanent criminal records.

Under the new provisions, people who were convicted or cautioned as children for loitering and soliciting for prostitution offences will automatically have these convictions or cautions disregarded and pardoned.

This means that any criminal records for these offences will be expunged, removing the lasting psychological burden, social stigma and barriers to employment and other freedoms these historic convictions have caused. It is expected the disregard and pardon scheme will benefit hundreds of people.

This action responds directly to one of the recommendations in the Baroness Casey review of grooming gangs, published in June. The government accepted all 12 recommendations in Baroness Casey’s report and is moving at pace to implement them.

Minister for Safeguarding and Violence Against Women and Girls, Jess Phillips said:

These amendments send a clear message: we will not allow failures of the past to define the futures of those who were let down by the system in so many ways.

Victims and survivors of child sexual exploitation deserve nothing but compassion and support, not a criminal record. Today, we are taking decisive action to put that right.

The disregard and pardon scheme will apply to individuals convicted for on-street prostitution offences when they were under 18, before the concept of child prostitution was abolished from the legislation in 2015. Once the Crime and Policing Bill receives royal assent and the provisions commence, the scheme will apply automatically. Victims and survivors will not need to make a request.

Gabrielle Shaw, Chief Executive of the National Association of People Abused in Childhood (NAPAC) said:

NAPAC welcomes this step towards restoring justice for survivors of childhood abuse. No child should ever be criminalised for being a victim of abuse or exploitation and we sincerely hope that the pardoning of these unjust convictions will provide a sense of validation for those who are affected.

Our own research, drawn from over 46,000 interactions with victims, tells us that both recognition of the abuse and being believed are integral to how survivors themselves define a positive justice outcome. The decision to disregard and pardon these convictions is a significant step towards building a justice system that can offer better, more survivor-centred outcomes.

With today’s reforms, the government is ensuring that victims and survivors of horrific child sexual exploitation are no longer haunted by convictions that should never have been on their records in the first place.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/child-prostitution-convictions-to-be-expunged

November 17, 2025

Majority of Family Court cases involve domestic abuse but system still not responding – Domestic Abuse Commissioner

New research reveals that domestic abuse is ‘everyday business’ within the family justice system, as nearly 90% of cases reviewed by the Commissioner identified it as an issue

A pro-contact culture and a failure to recognise domestic abuse and its severity is leading to decisions that may jeopardise children’s safety

The Domestic Abuse Commissioner for England and Wales says the reform promised in the wake of the Harm Panel Review in 2020 remains unfulfilled and demands urgent action to better protect adult and child victims

A damning new report by the Domestic Abuse Tsar has revealed that domestic abuse is ‘everyday business’ for the Family Courts, yet a pro-contact culture and dismissive attitudes towards victim-survivors are contributing to decisions that may be putting children’s safety at significant risk.

The new research led by academics at Loughborough University  – based on a pilot study across three Family Court sites which reviewed nearly 300 child arrangement case files, live observations of nearly 100 case hearings, as well as focus groups with domestic abuse survivors and interviews with judges, magistrates and Cafcass/Cafcass Cymru officers – provides unprecedented insight into the workings of the family justice system which has, until now, never been comprehensively collected.

The Domestic Abuse Commissioner found evidence of abuse within 73% of hearings it observed and in 87% of the case files it reviewed. Despite this prevalence, domestic abuse was frequently not recognised as an ‘active issue’ or taken seriously with regards to the type of contact children would go on to have with the abusive parent. In more than half of the cases reviewed by the Commissioner, unsupervised overnight contact was ordered.

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.

The Domestic Abuse Commissioner also found evidence of survivors being forced to navigate the complex system without representation. Though legal aid is available for cases involving domestic abuse, survivors are often prevented from accessing this support due to the evidence required to prove they are at serious risk, and the legal aid means test.

Survivors who litigated in person shared how they struggled to put together a case and provide the right evidence, with one survivor describing how she was ‘like a rabbit in headlights’ and that she ‘said nothing for the first two and half years.’ Others referenced not knowing which forms they needed to complete or how to fill them in correctly, which meant they struggled to get their concerns about domestic abuse onto the court’s agenda.

The report highlights how outdated views on domestic abuse amongst some legal professionals 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. This antiquated thinking, coupled with a severe lack of resource and siloed working has left many survivors feeling unheard, unsupported, and unprotected.

While the report exposes significant shortcomings in the Family Court’s handling of domestic abuse, it also spotlights how some judges, magistrates, solicitors, domestic abuse services and Cafcass staff are working tirelessly under heavy workloads to shield survivors from further harm. This includes ensuring trauma-informed approaches are being integrated into proceedings such as implementing protective screens to shield survivors from their abuser and limiting access to information that could be used by the perpetrator.

Despite these positive steps, the Domestic Abuse Commissioner is concerned that the level of reform promised in the wake of the Harm Panel report – which highlighted deep-rooted issues within the Family Court in responding to domestic abuse and other serious offences – remains largely unfulfilled.

With the UK government having set an ambitious target to halve violence against women and girls (VAWG) within a decade, the Commissioner is warning that urgent reform will be essential if the family justice system is to play its part in safeguarding victims and supporting the government to achieve this priority. She is urging ministers to publish the upcoming VAWG strategy so that this vital work can begin.

Part of a longer press release at https://domesticabusecommissioner.uk/majority-of-family-court-cases-involve-domestic-abuse-but-system-still-not-responding-warns-domestic-abuse-commissioner/

October 16, 2025

The impact of motherhood on monthly employee earnings and employment status, England: April 2014 to December 2022 – ONS

The change in employee earnings and employment after having a first, second and third child, for people with children.

  • Having children leads to a substantial and long-lasting reduction in mothers’ earnings; five years after the birth of a first child (Quarter 20), monthly earnings were reduced on average by 42%, or £1,051 per month, compared with earnings one year before the birth.
  • The total earnings loss over five years amounts to an average of £65,618 following the birth of a first child, £26,317 following the birth of a second child and £32,456 following the birth of a third child.
  • Part of this reduction in earnings is the result of a reduction in employment; the probability of paid employment was significantly reduced for five years after the birth of a first child, compared with one year before birth, with a peak reduction of 15.0 percentage points one and a half years after having a child.
  • The probability of paid employment was also significantly reduced after a second and third child for five years, compared with one year before birth, with a maximum reduction of 10.5 percentage points almost two years after the second birth and 10.5 percentage points two and a half years after the third birth.
  • Earnings among those who were in paid employment followed a similar pattern to earnings overall, with the biggest loss in earnings after the first birth, and sustained reductions in earnings for five years after each birth.

Full report at https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/healthandwellbeing/bulletins/theimpactofmotherhoodonmonthlyemployeeearningsandemploymentstatusengland/april2014todecember2022

See also
The lasting financial penalty of motherhood https://www.gingerbread.org.uk/our-work/news-and-views/ons-analysis-financial-penalty-motherhood/

 

October 7, 2025

Lack of government momentum to tackle domestic abuse is failing child victims warns Domestic Abuse Commissioner

  • The Domestic Abuse Commissioner for England and Wales is calling on ministers to reassure victims and survivors that halving violence against women and girls (VAWG) remains a key priority
  • Dame Nicole Jacobs is urging the government to publish the heavily delayed VAWG strategy and provide the necessary funding needed to ensure it succeeds

On 25 September 2025, the UK Government, issued its formal response to the Domestic Abuse Commissioner’s report into the experiences of children subject to domestic abuse, which included extensive recommendations on what action must be taken to improve the response they receive.

Of the 66 recommendations made by the Commissioner, the government has stated it intends to act, or points to work already in motion, on just 10 of the critical changes required to overhaul the current response for children subject to abuse. While some of the remaining 56 recommendations have been accepted partially, the majority have been flagged by the government as either needing to ‘explore’ or ‘consult’ on whether this work is required or been dismissed out right.

The Commissioner is pleased to see the government already act on two of her recommendations, since the report was published in April. This included updating the Relationships, Sex and Health Education (RSE) guidance, so that all children can learn about abusive behaviour in schools and increased funding for behaviour change perpetrator programmes. She is, however, becoming increasingly concerned by the ‘lack of momentum’ to tackle domestic abuse and improve the lives of survivors, including children.

This, she says, is a consequence of heavy delays to the much-anticipated violence against women and girls strategy, which is where the government has said it will set out its plans to ‘improve support for victims of domestic abuse, including for babies, children and young people.’

With an ambitious target to halve VAWG within a decade, the Domestic Abuse Commissioner is calling on ministers to urgently reassure survivors that tackling domestic abuse remains a critical priority. This, Dame Nicole Jacobs says, must be done by urgently publishing the VAWG strategy and providing the funding needed to ensure the much-needed work to better protect and support both adult and child victims of abuse can begin and succeed.

Domestic Abuse Commissioner for England and Wales, Dame Nicole Jacobs, said:

“Tens of thousands of child victims are currently not getting the level of help and support they need to recover from abuse, and I remain largely unclear on what the government intends to do about it.

“For children experiencing domestic abuse every day can be an anxious battle. Many are growing up in homes where the rules are always changing, where they struggle to concentrate at school and often do not know what devastating consequences the next day will bring. These children are our future – they need and deserve an ambitious plan from government on how it is going to ensure they are protected, but also how it intends to prevent other children from growing up in homes like theirs. But this has yet to materialise.

“Halving violence against women and girls within a decade is an ambitious target and one I applaud. But with the VAWG strategy still delayed and no major funding announced for specialist domestic abuse services, I fail to see where the momentum within government is coming from to ensure this commitment succeeds.

“It’s vital that the government clearly sets out how it intends to tackle and prevent domestic abuse as a matter of urgency. It should not need to be said that adult and child victims cannot wait any longer.”

Notes

  • The Commissioner’s report – Victims in their own right? – exposed how children across England and Wales are being turned away from vital help or left on long waiting lists, as specialist services struggle to cope amid funding shortages and rising demand. This report was supported by a separate piece of research – Tell Nicole – which enabled children to share their views on the support they need when experiencing domestic abuse.
  • To address this, the Domestic Abuse Commissioner made extensive recommendations to the government on how it could strengthen the support children receive. This included ensuring schools, the NHS and other public services such as the police and social care are better equipped to play their part in addressing domestic abuse through proper resourcing, guidance and training.
  • Underpinning this, was a critical need for independent and specialist domestic abuse services to receive adequate funding to stave off closure and continue to support children at a time when they need it most. No funding has been pledged to support these services in this response, or at either the Chancellor’s Spring statement in March or in the Budget last November.

https://domesticabusecommissioner.uk/lack-of-government-momentum-to-tackle-domestic-abuse-is-failing-child-victims-warns-government-tsar/

 

September 26, 2025