Doing violence to family law

Abstract

This article discusses the nature and implications of the proposed Legal Aid cuts in family law cases raising issues of domestic abuse. It outlines the proposed inclusions within and removals from the scope of Legal Aid for private family law proceedings set out in the Green Paper, Proposals for the Reform of Legal Aid in England and Wales, charts the progress of the proposals from the Green Paper to the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill 2011, and considers their likely impacts on women and children affected by domestic abuse. It also considers the potential interaction between the Legal Aid reforms and the Family Justice Review, and suggests desirable amendments to both.

Keywords:

• child abuse
• domestic violence
• family law
• Legal Aid

Acknowledgements

I am grateful to the other members of the Family Justice Council Domestic Abuse Committee and of the ‘Family Law in Hard Times’ group for discussions on the issues raised in this article. The opinions expressed herein, however, and any errors and omissions, are entirely my own.