University of Leeds expert leads review of domestic abuse court pilot

Parents and children who went through a pioneering court process designed to better protect families affected by domestic abuse share their experiences in new report led by University of Leeds expert.

The Pathfinder courts, piloted in Dorset and North Wales from 2022, aim to improve outcomes in child arrangements proceedings where domestic abuse is a factor. Now, a comprehensive review led by Dr Charlotte Barlow, Associate Professor in Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Leeds’ School of Law alongside colleagues from the University of Central Lancashire, has revealed what families think about the approach.

The findings centre on the experiences of parents and children who have been through the Pathfinder process. Clear benefits and improvements were identified by parents and children in the Pathfinder court process. However, some areas required further improvements.

Dr Barlow said, “The insights provided by parents and children offer valuable learning for future Pathfinder sites. Reducing re-traumatisation for victim-survivors must remain a central priority, alongside improving multi-agency collaboration and ensuring domestic abuse services are properly resourced.”

Hearing directly from families is key to understanding what works and what needs to improve in the future.

Dr Charlotte Barlow

The latest report, published by the Ministry of Justice, builds on earlier research published in March 2025, which focused on the experiences and views of professionals.

Key findings from the report

Children’s voices:

Both children and parents saw clear improvements in capturing the child’s perspective.
Mixed views on whether children’s wishes and perspectives were considered in the outcome of proceedings.

Domestic abuse:

Participants had mixed feelings about whether the pilot had reduced re-traumatisation.
Participants appreciated avoiding mediation, being offered a DASH (Domestic Abuse, Stalking, Harassment and Honour-based violence) risk assessment and special measures for their court appearances. However, these were not offered in all cases.
Mothers spoke positively of the involvement of domestic abuse services.
Many parents, especially mothers, felt there were more opportunities to reduce re-traumatisation, particularly when attending court. They emphasised the importance of feeling believed by professionals.

Multi-agency working:

Parents reported negative experiences with information sharing across agencies, especially around safeguarding and welfare concerns. They suggested concerns were often downplayed or ignored by professionals from different agencies.

Speed:

Parents with previous court experience found the Pathfinder process more efficient.
Some abuse victim-survivors felt the court process was too quick, preventing them from fully sharing their experiences during court hearings.

What needs to change

The report calls for:

Maintaining the focus on hearing the voice of the child. Children should be kept informed and given appropriate information through the process.
Reducing re-traumatisation for domestic abuse victim-survivors and fully investigating domestic abuse when raised, including counter-allegations.
Better multi-agency working and collaboration.
Making sure domestic abuse services have the staff and resources needed to support victim-survivors throughout the court process.
Ensuring that special measures in court hearings are always available and implemented where they have been agreed.
Improving the understanding of “parental alienation” and “alienating behaviours”.