Sex offenders to be denied parental responsibility for children born of rape | Family law
Sex offenders will no longer have parental responsibility for children born through rape, under new measures proposed in parliament.
Parental responsibility will automatically be restricted if a child is born from rape, under a government-backed amendment to the Victims and Courts Bill, which will be introduced to parliament on Monday 27 October.
The new reforms will also see parental liability restricted if a parent is convicted of serious sexual offenses against any child, not just their own child.
This will mean that sex offenders will no longer be able to interfere with decisions about medical care, education and foreign travel.
Bolsover MP Natalie Fleet was instrumental in campaigning for change; When she was 15, she was fostered by an old man and became pregnant with a child through rape.
“Men use every tool they can to silence women, and one of the tools they use is the family court,” she said.
“Everyone who’s been around it knows how terrible it is. It’s traumatizing. It’s obviously terrible and it’s awful. So we’re doing everything we can to make this a lot easier.”
“This law says we put the needs of survivors above the needs of rapists,” he added. “God, the fact that we even have to do this in 2025 is ridiculous, but I’m so excited we’re doing it.”
After being elected last summer, Fleet made it her mission to be a voice for rape survivors, especially those who had children after being assaulted.
“I think it is disgusting that we have come to the point where we allow children to be the only proceeds of crime that criminals have access to in their lifetime,” he said.
The fleet set out to achieve three things: establish a charity to support women who have children through rape, gain some recognition of the issue on the NHS website, and change the law.
“When I first came [to parliament]”I didn’t want to go through with it because rape is so normalized that I didn’t even realize it was part of my story,” she said.
“It wasn’t until Westminster journalists started asking me about it and dealing with my history in a way that hadn’t been done by home health visitors, teachers – anyone really – that it was so normal, because my story is so normal in my constituency.”
“As soon as I realized that rape was part of my story,” she thought, “oh my god, I have to change this.”
“I really thought the easiest thing would be to put it on the NHS website,” he said. “The second easiest thing would be to set up a charity. And the third and hardest thing, which would take years and years and years of campaigning, would be to change the law.”
According to the new reforms, parental responsibility will be restricted immediately after the sentencing and the obligation to apply to the family court will be eliminated.
Where it has not been established in the criminal proceedings that the child was conceived through rape, the crown courts will have the power to refer the case to the relevant local authority if the court considers that this may be the case.
The local authority will then have six months to obtain the mother’s consent to initiate family court proceedings.
Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy said: “These reforms mark an important step towards restoring confidence in our justice system.” “The automatic limitation of parental responsibility in cases of rape and serious child sexual offenses leading to the birth of a child sends a clear message: the rights and safety of children come first.
“This Government is committed to standing up for victims and ensuring that those who commit the most despicable crimes against children are never in a position to cause further harm.”
“These reforms will protect both mothers and children from the heinous acts of predatory parents, as part of our mission to halve violence against women and girls within ten years,” added Alex Davies-Jones, Minister for Victims and Combating Violence Against Women and Girls.
“I am proud to support these changes, which build on the tireless campaigning of Natalie Fleet MP, Baroness Harman and Jess Asato MP, who have been unwavering in their advocacy for the protection of children and women.”
“I’m still angry at myself that we have a government that takes a normal person from a district like mine, puts me in government, and then tells me you can use your platform to improve the lives of the women you represent,” Fleet said.
“This is absolutely incredible. This is unreal. This is amazing. And I’m really, really, really happy. When you achieve something like this, it’s absolutely the best day to be an MP.”
In a separate move, the government also announced it would repeal a law under the Children Act 1989; This law causes the family court to assume that contact with both parents is normally in the child’s best interests.
The Ministry of Justice said the change, which was welcomed by domestic violence campaigners, would be made “when parliamentary time permits”.
