Mark Blundell attended the Family Justice Council Conference 2023 and summarised the days talks for Family Law Journal alongisde Ann Chavasse, St Ives Chambers, Trustee of Family Rights Group.

Trauma in the Family Justice System, was the issue for this years Family Justice Council Conference, chaired by the President. The annual Bridget Lindley lecture was delivered by Dr Sheena Webb, who gave a compelling exposition of the serious and enduring effects of trauma and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. We heard from Pragna Patel how women of colour experience particular difficulties within the family justice system. From Wigan, social workers spoke of how they had adapted their practice to be trauma focused. There were moving presentations from those who had experienced trauma in the system; young women who as children were caught up in proceedings; a research project highlighting the trauma of removal of babies at birth and the birth mothers who had set up the HOPE Project, to help other birth mothers; a mother who had been involved in contact proceedings for 10 years with her daughter’s coercively abusive father; a father who had used his experience of the system to set up the Parent’s Promise and an HR initiative to help employees experiencing the trauma of relationship breakdown. The final plenary session provided some potential ways in which professionals involved in the system could adapt to provide a more trauma informed response to families and children.

The full article was published in the May edition of the Family Law Journal.