Courts of Justice Deansleigh Road Bournemouth BH7 7DS |
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B e f o r e :
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RE V AND W (CHILDREN: FINDING OF FACT) |
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24-28 High Street, Hythe, Kent, CT21 5AT
Tel: 01303 230038
Email: court@thetranscriptionagency.com
Ms Emma Harman (Counsel), instructed by Ellis Jones, on behalf of the Applicant Father
Ms Amy Oke (Counsel), instructed by Trethowans, on behalf of the Respondent Mother
Other Parties Present and their status
None known
Hearing dates: 19 – 23 June 2023
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Crown Copyright ©
This judgment was delivered in private. The judge has given leave for this version of the judgment to be published on condition that (irrespective of what is contained in the judgment) in any published version of the judgment the anonymity of the children and members of their family must be strictly preserved. All persons, including representatives of the media, must ensure that this condition is strictly complied with. Failure to do so will be a contempt of court.
Mr Recorder Veal:
Introduction
Legal framework
""coercive behaviour" means an act or a pattern of acts of assault, threats, humiliation and intimidation or other abuse that is used to harm, punish, or frighten the victim;
"controlling behaviour" means an act or pattern of acts designed to make a person subordinate and/or dependent by isolating them from sources of support, exploiting their resources and capacities for personal gain, depriving them of the means needed for independence, resistance and escape and regulating their everyday behaviour…"
"Few relationships lack instances of bad behaviour on the part of one or both parties at some time and it is a rare family case that does not contain complaints by one party against the other, and often complaints are made by both. Yet not all such behaviour will amount to domestic abuse."
(adjournment)
Evidence
Issues of fact and the evidence
Analysis and findings
"Domestic abuse is harmful to children, and/or puts children at risk of harm, including where they are victims of domestic abuse for example by witnessing one of their parents being violent or abusive to the other parent, or living in a home in which domestic abuse is perpetrated (even if the child is too young to be conscious of the behaviour). Children may suffer direct physical, psychological and/or emotional harm from living with and being victims of domestic abuse, and may also suffer harm indirectly where the domestic abuse impairs the parenting capacity of either or both of their parents."
"It follows that harm to a child in an abusive household is not limited to cases of actual violence to the child or to the parent. A pattern of abusive behaviour is as relevant to the child as to the adult victim. The child can be harmed in any one or a combination of ways. For example, where the abusive behaviour (i) is directed against or witnessed by a child, (ii) causes the victim of the abuse to be so frightened of provoking an outburst or reaction from the perpetrator that he is unable to give priority to the needs of the child, (iii) creates an atmosphere of fear and anxiety in the home which is inimical to the welfare of the child, and (iv) risks inculcating, particularly in boys, a set of values which involve treating women as being inferior to men."