i        
         

resisting-contact

 Family Court Library

General Disclaimer: Nothing presented constitutes legal advice and the McKenzie Friend UK Network is not a legal entity or in anyway claims to be a 'legal resource'. The resource guide is supported by McKenzie Friends and Litigants in person for Litigants in Person in Family Court. McKenzie Friends provide layperson support as an informed friend under the Family Court Practrice Guidance of 2010. All information is published under the spirit of that guidance. For any corrections of the information, please contact the McKenzie Friend UK Network
 
Resisting Contact
 
 
 
Over recent years the court has rowed back from taking a heavy hand against a parent who on the face of it is resistant to contact or indeed is openly tryig to undermine or hinder contact
 
The court certainly adopts a more cautious position where there may very good and justified reasons as to why a parent may openly oppose contact. There are generally three paths, 1) Where the fears and anxieties are reasonally held and therefore the actions of opposing contact are justified. 2) Where the actions are emotionally led and are not founded on rational fears or anxieties 3) Where the opposition was initially justified, but with safeguarding measures are now in place to reduce risk, that opposition continues.
 
 

In re H (Children) (Contact Order) ( No 2): FD 22 Jun 2001

The child's need to have a stable resident parent, who claimed that they would have a 'nervous breakdown' if contact was ordered outweighted the benefits ofcontact witht he non-resident parent.
 
Other notable cases:
 
Re A (Intractable Contact Proceedings: Human Rights Violations) [2013] EWCA Civ 1104. When the parents separated the father brought contact proceedings and returned to court when the mother refused to make the child available for contact. The Court of Appeal held that contact proceedings spanning 12 years in Sheffield County Court demonstrated a failure of the family justice system and violated the procedural requirements that are a part of the rights enshrined in Art 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, resulting in infringement of the rights to family life of the child and her father. READ THE JUDGEMENT

Re H (Children) (Parental Alienation)[2019] EWCA Civ 272 ("Re H"): This Court of Appeal case focused on the issue of parental alienation, where one parent systematically undermines the child's relationship with the other parent. The court highlighted the harm caused by parental alienation and stressed the importance of addressing it in custody and access decisions.

Re N (Children) (Adoption: Jurisdiction)[2016] UKSC 15 ("Re N"): Although not solely about resistance to child contact, this Supreme Court case emphasized the importance of considering a child's relationship with their birth family in adoption cases. The judgment emphasized the right to family life under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).

Re S (Contact: Parental Responsibility)[2017] EWCA Civ 44: This case emphasized the importance of a child's right to contact with both parents and the need to address any resistance by one parent to the other's involvement in the child's life.

Re C (Parental Alienation) [2019] EWFC B56: In this case, a family court judge discussed parental alienation and its impact on the child and the family unit. The judge highlighted the need for courts to identify and address alienating behaviors.

Re L (A Child) (Contact: Domestic Violence)[2019] EWCA Civ 2267: This case focused on a scenario where one parent resisted child contact due to allegations of domestic violence by the other parent. The Court of Appeal emphasized the need for a balanced approach when considering the impact of such allegations on child contact arrangements.

 
 
Cafcass and Parental Alienation
 
Cafcass guidance defines ‘Parental Alienation’ as:

“…when a child’s resistance or hostility towards one parent is not justified and is the result of psychological manipulation by the other parent. It is one of a number of reasons why a child may reject or resist spending time with one parent post-separation…Alienating behaviours present themselves on a spectrum with varying impact on individual children, which requires a nuanced and holistic assessment. Our role is to understand children’s unique experiences and how they are affected by these behaviours, which may differ depending on factors such as the child’s resilience and vulnerability”

 
Comment By Philip Kedge
 
As a layperson perspective -- 'For many family court service users, the reality is very different form their expectations. Many enter the family court system claiming 'parental alienation' without understanding that this claim is over used and in the vast majority of cases not supported by Cafcass or the courts.
 
Before parental alienation is even considered all other valid reasons that Cafcass may consider as justified in either a parent oppossing contact or a child opossing contact has to be explored in the first instance and the notion of 'parental alientation' will oonly be considered as the last resort.
 
For any notion of parental alienation to be pursued, there is normally a long and arduous process usually involving Fact-Finding Hearings, The appointment of a Children's Guardian and the expert opinion of psychologists or psychhologist.
 
Walking through the minefiled of 'parental alienation' in reality can take well over a year, sometimes 2-3 years of litigation, where in some cases people have paid over £100K in entirely pointless lawyers, placing themselves in crippling life long debt. In protracted cases, it is not unusual that the final decision of the court is to determine that because of the intractable hostility and because of the resistance of contact by the child, where wishes and feelings carry significant weighting, and where forcing contact may be more harmful than not, that the court does not make an order for contact and the (usually) fathers are left sending a birthday card yearly. A depressing scenario which is all too common.
 
The issue here is the understanding of the term 'parental alienation' and where it is used too quickly, it may actually backfire on that parent. The non-resident parent alleges 'parental alienation' the resident parent responds with allegations of 'domestic abuse' and 'coercive control' and that the claims of parental alienation is a continuation of that abuse and control. You have been warned!
 
So, before submitting your C100 citing 'parenting alienation' I would strongly suggest that you have a 30 minute free chat with one of our Trusted and Trained McKenzie Friends .'
 
Resources:
 
Cafcass: Resources for determining a child's resistance to contact.
 
 
 
Share by: