H (A Child: Contact: Domestic Abuse), Re
[2024] EWCA Civ 326
K v F
28 March 2023
[2023] EWHC 680 (Fam)
High Court
Dad hurt mom, and the kids don't want to see him. The judge only let dad send letters, not visit. Dad appealed, but the judge was right because the kids were scared, and dad didn't admit he did anything wrong.
Key Facts
- •Father appeals a July 2022 order granting only indirect contact (letters, gifts, cards) between him and his 5-year-old daughter, T.
- •The order followed a fact-finding hearing where the father was found to have physically assaulted the mother and been aggressive towards the children.
- •The father was acquitted in a subsequent Crown Court trial on assault charges.
- •Section 7 reports recommended indirect contact initially, with potential progression to direct contact contingent on the father's participation in and completion of a domestic abuse perpetrator program.
- •Both daughters expressed a lack of desire to see their father.
- •The judge rejected the social worker's suggestion that family members mediate future contact arrangements.
- •The father maintains his innocence and attributes the children's negative views to maternal influence.
Legal Principles
Welfare of the child is paramount.
Children Act 1989, section 1
Impact of domestic abuse on children.
Children Act 1989, section 31(9); Domestic Abuse Act 2021, section 3; PD12J FPR 2010
Child's right to family life; presumption of parental involvement.
Re C [2011] EWCA Civ 521; Children Act 1989, section 1(2A)
Consideration of past domestic abuse's impact on child and parent.
Re H-N [2021] EWCA Civ 448
Outcomes
Appeal dismissed.
The judge's order was deemed the only realistic option given the circumstances, including the father's lack of insight into his abusive behaviour and the children's stated wishes. While the judge's reasoning could have been more comprehensive, her decision was not wrong.