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Bar Chair calls for rollout of ‘problem-solving’ courts to tackle violence against women and girls
The Bar Council is calling on the UK government to prioritise funding the rollout of Pathfinder ‘problem solving courts’ as a step towards meeting its aim of halving violence against women and girls (VAWG).
Pathfinder courts, often referred to as ‘problem-solving courts’, take an investigative and problem-solving approach to private law family proceedings to improve the court responses to domestic abuse and enhance the voice of the child within proceedings. The approach aims to reduce the need to put families through multiple hearings through early information gathering.
After a successful pilot in family courts in North Wales and Dorset, the pilot was expanded to South-East Wales and Birmingham. On a visit to the Pathfinder courts in Cardiff today (Thursday) with the leader of the Wales and Chester Circuit Caroline Rees KC, Barbara Mills KC is calling on the government to fund the rollout of Pathfinder courts throughout England and Wales.
Barbara Mills KC is the first specialist family practitioner in the role of Chair of the Bar in 37 years. One of her priorities is to help the government in its mission to halve violence against women and girls through a package of proposed measures, arguing that an effective and properly funded family court system should be front and centre of reaching this target.
“Pathfinder courts, such as the pilots in North and South-East Wales, prioritise the safety and wellbeing of families. They are an innovative approach that we know works and are a significantly better way for courts to engage with parents and children. It’s time to prioritise funding their expansion,” said Barbara Mills KC, chair of the Bar Council, the body which represents all barristers in England and Wales.
Survivors and perpetrators have fed back that the process is ‘much less brutal’ and ‘unkind’ than the standard adversarial family law proceedings, according to the Domestic Abuse Commissioner.
At least 40% of private children cases in the family courts involve allegations of domestic abuse. Over one million VAWG related crimes were recorded during 2022/23 -20% of all police recorded crime according to the National Police Chiefs’ Council, in what has been described as an ‘epidemic scale’ of offending.
Alongside the rollout of Pathfinder courts, Barbara Mills KC is putting forward a package of measures to enhance the government’s approach to VAWG, including specialised domestic abuse and child abuse support and assessment services and trauma-informed measures in court buildings.
“Family justice needs attention, and it needs funding,” she continued. “Violence against women and girls is preventable through policies which extend beyond reactive measures. Pushing ahead with the national roll out of Pathfinder courts and the other measures we suggest are an important step on the long road to tackling horrific violence against women.”