Domestic Abuse: A UK Perspective

This chapter provides an analysis of current issues in UK family law relating to domestic abuse. The chapter deals with definitions of domestic abuse, domestic abuse allegations in residence and contact disputes, abuse through the family court process, other family court proceedings involving domestic abuse, and domestic abuse in out-of-court processes such as family mediation. It argues that in family law, concerns to ensure the safety and well-being of women and children constantly contend with competing considerations which tend to minimize the significance and effects of domestic abuse. These include limited conceptions of domestic violence, the courts' pro-contact culture, inattention to the ways in which the family court proces may operate as a form of abuse, the policy push to de-legalize family law, and cost-cutting and resource constraints.