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The Bar Council has called for all family court cases involving domestic abuse to be brought within the scope of legal aid for both parties, and for means testing to be scrapped for alleged victims and survivors of domestic abuse.
In a new policy paper, the body, which represents all 18,000 barristers in England and Wales, has set out a package of recommendations to improve the ability of the family justice system.
Currently, only 15% of families are eligible for legal aid, which, when coupled with difficulties in recruiting and retaining skilled family solicitors, has led to huge swathes of the country becoming “legal advice deserts”, the body warned.
It has led to many people being forced to represent themselves as “litigants in person”, which the Bar Council has said swallows scarce time and resources, and can often also be a retraumatising process for victims and survivors.
The Bar Council said the family courts system plays a vital role in tackling violence against women and girls (VAWG), and that investment in and reform of the family justice system can help the government meet its target of halving this in a decade.
According to government data, in the year ending March 2024, more than 1.2 million women and more than 550,000 men between the ages of 16 and 59 are estimated to have been victims of domestic abuse.
A report from the domestic abuse commissioner published in October found that domestic abuse features in almost 90% of cases before the family court.
Other suggestions from the Bar Council include an increase in legal aid funding in family law, sufficiently financing the rollout of the pathfinder courts and the family drug and alcohol courts (FDAC) across England and Wales, and improving support for those going through the family justice system.
The policy paper also calls for continued support for the Domestic Abuse Protection Orders and Notices (DAPOs and DAPNs) pilot scheme, and the provision of perpetrator programmes after admissions or findings of fact hearings in family court.
“Violence against women and girls is not a private issue, it is now a public emergency. We know that women and girls are hurt by men who profess to love them in the place they call home.
“We are only scratching the surface in terms of solutions if we do not also consider family justice, alongside criminal justice, when it comes to tackling VAWG,” the Bar Council chair, Barbara Mills KC, herself a family law silk, said.
“That is why we have set out our recommendations – we know that through the family courts, we can not only protect victims but also prevent violence against women and girls for the long term.”
Barristers have raised issues, including that in some courts, victims and alleged perpetrators are forced to sit in the same waiting room, while meetings are held in rooms where it is possible to overhear what is being discussed next door.
In some courts there is no drinking water or handwashing facilities, and they have warned that a lack of security puts lawyers and clients in danger.
Mills said that “in its current state, the system cannot function as it should”.
“A long record of underfunding in the court system has left a dilapidated and understaffed court estate, which is not always adequate to support efficient working,” she added.
“Investment is urgently needed to ensure we have accessible, survivor-centred justice focused on early intervention and prevention.”
