Posts
#CPConf2015 – How did it go?
With no small amount of trepidation, we gathered at the NCVO venue in London on June 1st. We had no idea how it was going to go, if we had been over ambitious in our scope, if the different participants really had anything to say to one another that could lead to...
How far should children be protected from discovering horrors from their parents’ past?
This is a post about a case that is only indirectly a family court type case, because of an agreement* made between the parents, on separating in 2009, to try to protect their son from learning about the historic past in a way that would be detrimental to the child....
Online Child Protection Survey
We'd love it if you would fill in our survey and let your colleagues and others involved in the child protection system know about by tweeting or sharing the link to this page through social media or email, so they can fill it in too. [UPDATE 27 MAY - If you've had...
Transparency overseas
This weekend I have been at the Family Law Bar Association annual conference at Cumberland Lodge, which this year has an international family law theme. Yesterday we heard two really illuminating presentations from foreign judges, who told us all about how they do...
Reporting restrictions in the criminal courts (quick reference guide)
"Open justice is a hallmark of the rule of law. It is an essential requisite of the criminal justice system that it should be adminstered in public and subject to public scrutiny. The media play a vital role in representing the public and reflecting the public...
The Transparency Project – it’s a “thing” you know
After some agonising bureaucracy The Transparency Project is starting to feel real. Not only have we finally accomplished the apparently herculean task of opening a bank account but we have also this week received confirmation that our application for recognition by...
Transparency in the Court of Protection
The Court of Protection was established by the Mental Capacity Act 2005 to make decisions about the care and treatment of people who lack mental capacity because of conditions like dementia, or have learning disabilities or mental health problems. These cases often...
The Satanic Cult that Wasn’t
This is a thorough, thoughtful piece by Melanie Griffiths, broadcast on BBC Radio 4’s ‘The Report’ on Thursday. It looks at how campaigners misinterpreted allegations of parental child abuse as evidence of concealed ritual satanic abuse, sent it viral and caused harm....
Speaker Bios
Here are brief details of the speakers/participants at the Multidisciplinary Conference on 1 June Cathy Ashley – Chief Executive of Family Rights Group, England and Wales Family Rights Group (www.frg.org.uk) is the charity in England and Wales that advises and...
More harm than good
One goal of the Transparency Project is to provide balanced and accurate information about the family courts, so people can make up their own minds on topics that often (rightly) provoke debate, or even protest. This can feel particularly useful if the press have just...