MSPs urged to increase child contact protection

Scottish Women's Aid calls for restriction on contact orders in favour of abusive parents

News, 22 September 2005

Scottish Women's Aid has urged MSPs to strengthen the law to protect children from abusive parents following separation.

The charity claims some sheriffs are failing to consider the link between domestic abuse against a parent and the potential to harm a child when deciding on child contact arrangements for the other parent. Research has suggested that in 40 to 60% of cases of domestic abuse against a mother, her child or children are also at risk of being abused.

The SWA said courts approve contact orders in about 56 per cent of cases where domestic abuse has occurred. Under the Children (Scotland) Act 1995, sheriffs are required to give "paramount consideration" to the welfare of the child when deciding to grant contact orders.

Heather Coady, the SWA's children's rights worker, urged the Justice 1 Committee to strengthen the law using the Family Law (Scotland) Bill currently going through the parliament. She said the law should explicitly state that sheriffs can only grant an order if satisfied that it will not result in domestic abuse against either parent or child.

Ms Coady said the SWA were very keen to have something on the bill that referred directly to domestic abuse. The SWA had previously argued for an all-out ban on contact in all cases where domestic abuse had taken place, but this was rejected by ministers and the committee, who said it could work against a child's interest in certain cases.

The Justice Committee suggested the Executive could give further guidance to courts. Consideration of stage 2 amendments to the Family Law Bill begins on 5 October.