Right to Equality held a celebration event on 7 January in the Jubilee Room at the House of Commons to mark the Government’s announcement that the presumption of parental involvement in family courts will be repealed.
The event brought together survivors, parliamentarians, government ministers, legal experts, clinicians and campaigners to recognise the success of a sustained, survivor-led and evidence-based campaign. The reform follows years of advocacy, including the publication of a major report on the pro-contact culture of the courts, parliamentary engagement and collaboration with frontline organisations. The Government announced the repeal on 22 October 2025.
Speakers at the event underlined that, while the announcement is a major step forward, repeal has not yet been enacted in law. Attendees called for swift legislative action and for survivor-centred reform to be implemented meaningfully in practice to protect children and protective parents.
The presumption of parental involvement, which was enacted in 2014 against the recommendations of the Family Justice Review, means the court assumes that a parent’s involvement in a child’s life benefits the child unless evidence shows otherwise. In reality, the presumption is harmful because it treats parental involvement as the default priority, rather than first assessing whether it is safe and in the child’s best interests. It also shifts the burden onto protective parents and children to prove harm, reinforcing a longstanding pro-contact culture that can expose them to ongoing risk. The pro-contact culture, reinforced by the statutory presumption, has even led to mothers losing the care of their children to abusive fathers.
At its worst, the presumption of contact has led to the death of children. Longstanding campaigner against the statutory presumption, and key speaker at the event, Claire Throssell MBE, gave a stark and moving account of how her two sons, Jack and Paul, were murdered by their father during court ordered contact, despite Claire warning the judge of the dangers to her children.
One of the central contributors to the anticipated change in the law was Dr Adrienne Barnett, Reader in Law at Brunel Law School and Co-Director of Right to Equality, whose research and expertise have played a significant role for 28 years in challenging unsafe assumptions within the family justice system and informing the case for reform. Dr Barnett led Right to Equality's campaign to end the presumption of parental involvement and was the lead author of the campaign's report.
Right to Equality is a non-profit organisation focused on advancing reform within the UK family justice system.