Transparency in the Family Courts Report published

[Alison J Stevens]

I very unfortunately became a victim of domestic violence.via my Partner who started abusing alcohol after the death of his late Mother and Father.

I put an Application in to HMCTS.for a non molestation restraining order and an occupation order of the matrimonial home.

The Court bundle was put together Myself.and I got a hearing the same day.after taking the bundle to the Court office.

The hearing was ex parte. meaning that the perpetrator would not be in Court.

After what was quite a traumatic experience. i remember having to take an oath.and swear on the bible.i took my own bible with me to Court.

If i was made aware that experienced journalists were going to blog away and write in Court.I would of certainly not gone ahead with the hearing.

And at the start of putting the Court Application together.if i had heard that journalists were going to be present in Court I would not of even bothered to put the bundles together and but Applications in for both orders.

I found the whole experience to be very degrading.with all asunder knowing my private business.

As well as having to deal with the Police and adult Social Services regarding my Husband’s behaviour.my house was not my own.paramedics and ambulances would turn up at my home at least twice a month with reference to my Husbands medical conditions post alcohol abuse.

Yes my life was a complete mess.due to my partners alcohol dependency.my life was being determined by others.

So a journalist being in at my Court hearings i would of not turned up or done a runner from the Court.

Things have turned out really well now my life is back to normal.

Another awful experience was going through the Family Court arena myself.

Back in 1986 my youngest Son aged 3 jumped from the side of the bath and landed awkwardly.resulting in a fracture of the right tibia with no trauma .

We were accused of Non Accidental Injury our Son was taken into care for 12 weeks.

For two weeks we didn’t know where my Son had been placed .and every call to the social worker ended up in stalemate.

They would tell us nothing.on many occasions they failed even to answer the phone.

The whole system was deemed to be secret as the social worker would not even pick the phone up.and we didn’t see copies of any orders supplied by the Court to take my Son into care.

After the first Family Court hearing we managed to get hold of a brilliant Children’s panel Solicitor via the former Director of Parents Against injustice Sue Amphlett.

If there had of been a accredited journalist at the hearing I would of definitely not turned up at Court.

There is no smoke without fire and we were deemed to be guilty of harming our Son by social workers and other so called medical experts.

GOD KNOWS HOW WE WOULD OF BEEN PORTRAYED by the journalists.

Even though the CPS had no evidence to go on to support a criminal trial the family courts were a different kettle of fish.

We were deemed to be guilty .social workers lied through their teeth.we didn’t even get to meet the Guardian.

After 12 weeks the powers to be backed down and stated that the fracture could of been caused accidentally.

Although there was no smoke without fire in our case social services left our oldest Son aged 5 in our care.

Six months later Scott was diagnosed with OI brittle bone disease.

With reference to our case.if journalists had been mentioned about attending our family court hearings i know that i 

would of not turned up at Court.

We had deemed to be guilty in the eyes of the Judge.social workers and everybody else that had been in Court.

To be judged by the journalists and had a drawing of my face all over the press.even though I knew this only happened in criminal cases the former would of not been looked upon lightly by the. Judge.by us not turning up at Court because of journalists being there that excuse would of been used against us thus we would of not had our Son returned to our care.

The general public are quite ignorant with regards to the Family Court arena and in their eyes mistakes never happen and certainly no miscarriages of justices occur.

So in a way miscarriages of justice could be highlighted in the secret family Courts.if they are opened up for scrutiny.also the lies of social workers would be defined .

Yes conflicting evidence and misleading evidence given by the so called medical experts in family courts up and down the U.K. on a daily basis.and many of these children are wrongly taken into care based on hearsay .

Children are also put up for adoption based on this kind of evidence.hence gross miscarriages of justice .

I dealt with a case where a paediatrician diagnosed a Mother with MSBP fabricated induced illness without ever meeting her.

The so called expert was not even adequately qualified to diagnose such an illness.

It would of had to be diagnosed by a psychiatrist but a bigger injustice for the Mother this so called medical expert had not met her in person.

In this case the Court judgment supported the parents.

The Judge ordered Coventry City council to pay the parents large amount of legal fees.

In one way social workers would have to obey the law and do things properly as well

as the so called medical experts.so that could prove very positive.

I remember at the time of my case the local press wrote about a similar case to ours.

The parents were deemed as child abusers after their daughter suffered from a unexplained fracture in fact the parents were pointed out as very evil.

A year later the local press became aware that the child has been diagnosed with OI brittle bone disease and the child was returned to the care of her parents.

The press then wanted to highlight children wrongly taken into care.but the parents refused to speak to the same journalist.based on his previous write up of accusing them of child abuse.

With reference to the case where the Mother had been diagnosed with MSBP by a paediatrician without ever meeting her.a journalist Brian Morgan applied to the High Court to name the paediatrician.and this was allowed.

Many children have already stated that they do not want journalists to be allowed into the Court for these cases.

Some parents would not like to be vilified by these journalists after already being deemed guilty by social workers and other experts.but in a way the whole corrupt system needs to be exposed and could have an imprint on social workers to follow the law and policy correctly.

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