Abuse and findings of fact | Child Protection Resource

But if coercive control involves ‘patterns of behaviour’ – how are those patterns to be discerned?

The case of K v K [2022] EWCA Civ 468 (08 April 2022) re-emphasises the general guidance on the court’s approach to fact- finding hearings in private family proceedings following the Court of Appeal’s decision Re H-N [2021] EWCA Civ 448 (Re H-N). I have written about that decision and its guidance here. It also provides a fresh emphasis on methods of ‘non-court’ dispute resolution and when they should be considered.

The case was about whether or not the findings of fact made by the District Judge should be over turned. On the first appeal, the findings were upheld but the Court of Appeal gave permission for the father to re-argue his grounds. Briefly, the father submitted that the District Judge had not considered his case that the mother had alienated the children and the findings made of rape, coercive and controlling behaviour and physical abuse of the children are unsound. The mother argued that there was a high threshold needed to over turn findings of fact, and it had not been reached in this case.

The Court of Appeal found that there had not been proper consideration of the need for a finding of fact, and the findings made were unsafe. The case would therefore be sent back to a Circuit Judge to decide if a fresh finding of fact is needed, following the guidance set out in Re H-N. In brief:

The parties had not taken advantage of a MIAM – Mediation Intake and Assessment Meeting and this might have resolved logistical issues about the father’s contact. The mother had initially agreed to unsupervised contact and had not seen the allegation of rape or generalised controlling behaviour as central to the resolution of the issues between them. .
Any judge considering a finding of fact must identify at an early stage the real issues in the case, as relate to the welfare of the child. A finding of fact is only necessary if the alleged abuse is relevant to what the court is being asked to decide relating to the children’s welfare.
The finding of rape was unsafe as the Judge did not consider all the available evidence, including the mother’s untrue assertion that she had reported this to the family doctor.

Non- court dispute resolution

The Court of Appeal examined the various ways of reaching resolution in a case where the the initial difficulties between the parties appeared to be ‘entirely logistical’ rather than an objection to contact with the father in principle. These needed to be considered at the FHDRA – the First Hearing and Dispute Resolution Appointment which has as its ‘essential purpose’ an opportunity for judicially led dispute resolution. The Court of Appeal were concerned that the father avoided the MIAM simply by stating the case was urgent. Such assertions should have been checked at or before the FHDRA under rule 3.10(1) FPR. See further Practice Direction 12B.

As well as attendance at a MIAM the court noted the Family Mediation Voucher Scheme; eligible parties can apply for a voucher during the MIAM process and receive up to £500 towards the costs of mediation. The Court of Appeal said at para 36:

We would urge all parties to private law proceedings to make use of this valuable resource. This case provides an example of a situation in which mediation would have been particularly appropriate, because there was at the start, no issue between the parents as to whether unsupervised contact was appropriate.

What issues of child welfare are relevant to the finding of fact?

The Judge has to consider this question carefully. The Court of Appeal relied on the ‘key guidance’ from Re H-N, including para 139:

Domestic abuse is often rightly described as pernicious. In recent years, the greatly improved understanding both of the various forms of abuse, and also of the devastating impact it has upon the victims and any children of the family, described in the main section of this judgment, have been most significant and positive developments. The modern approach and understanding is reflected in the ‘General principles’ section of PD12J(4). As discussed at paragraphs 36–41 above that does not, however, mean that in every case where there is an allegation of, even very serious, domestic abuse it will be either appropriate or necessary for there to be a finding of fact hearing, so much is clear from the detailed guidance set out in paragraphs 16–20 of PD12J and, in particular, at paragraph 17.

It is clear that a decision to hold a fact-finding hearing is a ‘major judicial determination’ – it will inevitably introduce delay and increase the negative impact on the parents’ on going relationship and ability to co-operate with each other as parents. The District Judge had made a ‘premature’ decision to hold a finding of fact and he should have first identified the issues between the parents as to the children’s welfare and given the mother time to decide what factual findings she wanted the court to decide, always bearing closely in mind that she was not seeking to prevent contact between the children and their father.

The Court of Appeal were crystal clear at para 65

A fact-finding hearing is not free-standing litigation. It always takes place within proceedings to protect a child from abuse or regarding the child’s future welfare. It is not to be allowed to become an opportunity for the parties to air their grievances. Nor is it a chance for parents to seek the court’s validation of their perception of what went wrong in their relationship. If fact-finding is to be justified in the first place or continued thereafter, the court must be able to identify how any alleged abusive behaviour is, or may be, relevant to the determination of the issues between the parties as to the future arrangements for the children.

The Court of Appeal were concerned that the guidance in Re H-N at para 53 may have been misunderstood. This warned judges against a failure to properly consider issues of coercive control as this might make their judgments vulnerable to appeal. But that requirement to consider the overarching issue of coercive of controlling behaviour was when it was necessary to determine a dispute relating to a child’s welfare. It is not a requirement for the court to determine every single subsidiary factual allegation that may also be raised.

Concluding remarks

This is a useful reminder of the need to consider the justification for finding of fact hearings, given their inevitable negative impact on both the speed of resolution of a conflict and the further polarisation of the parties in adversarial proceedings. It’s also clear to see the focus on ‘non-court’ dispute resolution, which was the focus of the recent Family Justice Council conference.

However, one thing I do not understand. Coercive and controlling behaviour involves a ‘pattern’ of behaviour. Judges are criticised for focusing too much on individual events rather than stepping back and asking what is the prevailing ‘weather’ of this relationship. But how do we discern a pattern if we do not identify its individual elements? Surely no finding of overall coercive and controlling behaviour can be made without findings as to individual events? This case is of limited use in helping me square this circle, as it was an appeal from a decision which had been made without the benefit of the judgment in Re H-N and the Judge could not be criticised for that. What we need now is an appeal from a decision which has tried very hard to stick with the Re H-N guidance.

Non- court dispute resolution

What issues of child welfare are relevant to the finding of fact?

Concluding remarks

Further Reading