Child First: Media coverage

Media coverage and support for the Child First campaign.

The Women’s Aid Child First campaign launched on Wednesday 20th January 2016.

Below is a collection of press releases, interviews, blogs, features, articles and tweets from the campaign launch.

If you are a journalist and would like more information about the campaign or to arrange interviews with Child First spokespeople or case studies, please contact the Women’s Aid Press Office.

Huffington Post: So Many Abused Women and Children Are Being Failed By the Family Courts

20 April 2016

Huffington Post: In Family Courts, It Is Still Absolutely Routine for Domestic Abuse Survivors to Be Cross-Examined By Their Abusers

By Polly Neate – 20 April 2016

Huffington Post: Violent Parents – Calling for the End to Child Contact at Any Cost

By Jess Philips MP – 20 April 2016

BBC News: Claire Throssell: Mum’s vigil for Penistone fire death brothers

6th March 2016

The Sun: ‘I’ll never get another card… I feel empty’: Mother’s Day pain of mum whose sons were murdered by their dad

By Clare O’Reilly – 5th March 2016

The Law Society Gazette: Domestic violence victims ‘routinely abused’ in family court – charity

By John Hyde – 3rd March 2016

Closer: What makes a father kill his family?

By Michelle Rawling – February 2016

Barnsley Chronicle: Claire fronts ‘Child First’ for her boys

By Lynsey Bradford – 29th January 2016

Vice News: British Children Are Dying at the Hands of Their Fathers – and It Could Be Stopped

By Cat McShane – 27th January 2016

ITV News: Bereaved mother backs child safety campaign

25th January 2016

Community Care: Social workers should get specialist training after 19 children killed during contact visits

By Rachel Schraer – 22nd January 2016

The Telegraph Letters

21st January 2016

BBC News: Bereaved South Yorkshire mother calls for legal changes

20th January 2016

Mumsnet: “Children are at terrible risk if the family courts don’t put their safety first”

20th January 2016

Guest post from survivor Claire Throssell (Trigger warning: upsetting content)

Claire Throssell’s sons were murdered by their father, a known domestic abuser. In this moving post, she makes a plea for the Family Courts to put children’s safety before the wishes of abusive parents.

Voices, The Independent: These children died at the hands of their fathers when family courts failed to put them first

By Polly Neate, Chief Executive of Women’s Aid – 20th January 2016

Buzzfeed: How Domestic Violence Victims Are Still At Risk, Even In A Courtroom

By Rossalyn Warren – 20th January 2016

The Telegraph: 19 children killed from 12 families. When will family courts in Britain start putting kids first?

By Polly Neate, Chief Executive of Women’s Aid – 20th January 2016

Family Law Week: Women’s Aid launches campaign to put child safety at heart of all family court decisions

20th January 2016

The Law Society Gazette: Abuse survivors ‘re-victimised’ through family court process

By Monidipa Fouzder – 20th January 2016

Stowe Family Law LLP: Charity highlights domestic abuse ‘failings’

20th January 2016

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Leek Post & Times: Women’s Aid launches Nineteen Child Homicides report and Child First campaign ­

Thangam, who has worked over many years to end domestic violence, fully supports #ChildFirst campaign (TD office) https://t.co/Mhj2sZD2F4 — Thangam DebbonaireMP (@tdebbonaire) February 2, 2016

Sir James Munby, President of the Family Division, on our report ‘Nineteen Child Homicides’ #ChildFirst pic.twitter.com/ceFTTCfu0g   — Women’s Aid (@womensaid) January 20, 2016

@womensaid Family Courts must make children’s safety a priority in deciding parent contact & listen to child’s views https://t.co/iRl8OW5D5A — ChildrenCommissioner (@ChildrensComm) January 20, 2016

Are courts putting children first? “Last time I saw them I was holding them as they died” Mum Claire Throssell https://t.co/OtDkxZFw9N — Victoria Derbyshire (@VictoriaLIVE) January 20, 2016

Hilary Fisher, @womensaid “These deaths really shouldn’t be happening” https://t.co/4WDiSoWTj8 — Victoria Derbyshire (@VictoriaLIVE) January 20, 2016

Moved by #victorialive today? Learn more about a new campaign to make children safe https://t.co/BoUrYEOWS9 https://t.co/Op9RXjKjTq — LloydsBankFoundation (@LBFEW) January 20, 2016

One woman’s harrowing account of the day her sons were killed by their dad: https://t.co/DRmNKsXrt4 pic.twitter.com/wAGxf8aNtM — BBC Woman’s Hour (@BBCWomansHour) January 20, 2016

More about this @BBCWomansHour today https://t.co/aLPrRdmDga — Jane Garvey (@janegarvey1) January 20, 2016

Further information & support

If you have any concerns about your safety, or that of anyone you know, please contact the police on 999 in an emergency or call the National Domestic Violence Helpline (run in partnership with Refuge): 0808 2000 247

Learn more about the Child First campaign

Contact our press office