MRC Webinar - The Absent Voice: Domestic Abuse and Child Contact in Scotland

Richard Whitecross is a Professor of Socio-Legal Studies and Head of Law at Edinburgh Napier University. His research focus is on domestic abuse in child contact cases and the impact on victim/ survivors. He has presented his research nationally and internationally. In 2023, he was invited to join a Scottish Law Commission Working Group looking at domestic abuse and civil remedies in Scotland.

In this webinar, Richard will draw on his extensive research to illustrate “the absent voice” of victim/ survivors in contact cases involving domestic abuse. He will outline the impact of the current lack of interface between the civil courts and the domestic abuse courts in Scotland.

He will also identify the key barriers survivors and support workers face at present in contact cases involving domestic abuse, including barriers around legal aid and funding for contact cases.