Olivia Piercy and Maria Wright publish article on domestic abuse and relocation
Olivia Piercy and Maria Wright have published an article in the August issue of the Family Law Journal (Lexis Nexis) on domestic abuse and relocation. The article expands on Olivia's presentation to the Corbett Le Quesne Children's Law Conference in March of this year.
The authors consider the approach to domestic abuse in cases where a parent is seeking to relocate with their child overseas.
For parents involved in these cases, and practitioners representing them, there is often a difficult tension around the issue of the child's contact with the parent who is alleged to have been abusive. The court's approach in relocation cases is wholly guided by the need to meet a child's best interests, by reference to the ‘welfare checklist’ in s 1 (3) Children Act 1989. However, there is often a focus on future proposals for the child's time with their parents, as, inevitably, the question will arise as to how a child's relationship with the parent who is resisting the relocation will be impacted by the move, and how that relationship can be maintained notwithstanding a geographical distance.
In many cases, parents may feel a need to agree to or propose a level of contact which does not in fact feel safe for them or for their child, so that they do not prejudice their relocation application. The authors draw parallel with the concept previously seen in some social work commentary of ‘disguised compliance’ - a parent will seeks to present a plan for the child's future contact with the left-behind parent post-relocation which is not one that they either (a) intend to follow or (b) believe is in the child's best interests. This approach helps neither parent, as it runs the risk of relocation being granted on a false basis which is likely to unravel in the months and years that follow.
It is now vitally important to think more carefully about how domestic abuse is being approached in relocation cases. Between a half and two thirds of private law cases concerning children involve allegations of domestic abuse - this is not a marginal issue. At an international level - the adequacy of a country's relocation jurisdiction is linked to the prevalence of international child abduction. The recent Special Commission on the operation of the 1980 Hague Child Abduction Convention and 1996 Hague Child Protection Convention heard extensive submissions about cases where children are abducted against a background of domestic abuse. One of the Conclusions and Recommendations of the Special Commission concerned the importance of Contracting States having national systems to facilitate children's lawful relocation across national borders.
Given that domestic abuse is increasingly a feature of international child abduction cases, there is a need to shine a spotlight on how the issue is being considered at a national level. Encouraging trust and faith in a national court's relocation jurisdiction is of vital importance in preventing international child abduction.
