JANET OGANAH, Barrister and Mediator at 42 Bedford Row Chambers
CLAIRE LILLEY, Head of Child Online Safety at the NSPCC
DONALD FINDLATER, Director of Research and Development, Lucy
Faithfull Foundation
This article questions whether the new
regime of Civil Prevention Orders in criminal law provides family law
practitioners with broader opportunities to facilitate safeguarding and child
protection in cases of child sexual abuse and online child sexual abuse.
The discussion will introduce family law
practitioners to the new Civil Prevention Order regime, and briefly examine the
old regime in order to consider the extent to which the new regime has resolved
some of the previously identified difficulties. The article will then focus on
the safeguarding and child protection opportunities presented by the new
regime, with reference to case examples. The article concludes by suggesting
practical steps that family law practitioners can take in family proceedings
involving allegations of sexual abuse, in order to prompt the relevant police
force to take action in appropriate cases.
It is hoped that this discussion
informs and prompts family law practitioners to utilise the opportunities
offered by Civil Prevention Orders to make referrals and facilitate
safeguarding and child protection for
all children who may be at risk of
sexual harm proved in respect of individuals in family law proceedings; over
and above the
specific children who are the subject of the proceedings.
The full version of this article appears in the August 2014 issue of Family Law.
Online subscribers can access the full version of this article here.
