‘Criminals get legal help – but I alone had to fight for my daughter’
S.Appearing before a judge with her entire world at stake, Sarah* remembers “stumbling” over her words and desperately trying to make sense of what was happening in front of her.
Across the room, her ex-husband Al*’s experienced attorney was speaking to the judge in jargon he could not understand. The couple’s dispute over custody of their young daughter, Elsie*, had been ongoing for two years; The girl feared her heavy drug use would put her four-year-old daughter at risk.
But despite her best efforts to keep Elsie safe, Sarah knew she couldn’t protect her. The broken legal aid system forced him to represent himself in family court; she was “too poor” to properly defend her child.
Sarah met Al at work 15 years ago and the couple were happily married when Elsie came along. But as Al’s health deteriorated, he began consuming marijuana heavily, often smoking “a joint every hour,” according to Sarah. He said that when he didn’t smoke he became angry and rude, “a different person – like Jekyll and Hyde”.
He refused to allow Sarah to have anyone else at home, separating her from family and friends and accumulating debts worth around £11,000, most of which were in her name.
He eventually left the relationship and managed to move into a housing association property with Elsie. She says her ex-husband never stopped her from spending time with their daughter, but drew the line at overnight stays “until he proved he could keep her safe.”
“I knew how hard it was sometimes to wake him up because he smoked marijuana,” she explained. “How could I leave a four-year-old with him overnight? It seemed irresponsible.”
However, Al insisted on equal access to Elsie; After dropping Sarah off, he would often refuse to leave the house or jam his foot in the door to keep it open. On more than one occasion, she says, he launched into a tirade of “verbal abuse” in front of his children.
Sarah recorded many of the incidents and took the videos to the police because she feared for their safety. But he says he was advised not to pursue the allegations because the chances of a conviction were low without police asking to see the footage.
Al then took Sarah to court and applied for a child arrangements order, which is a legally binding family court order detailing how the child will live, spend time and communicate with both parents.
“It was actually quite surreal,” he said. “I felt betrayed. I couldn’t believe it had come to this.”
He could not afford a lawyer to represent him and began researching whether he would be eligible for legal aid; This service may be provided where it is thought that someone is protecting themselves or their child from abuse or harassment (for example, domestic violence or forced marriage).
He reached out to dozens of attorneys in his area but struggled to find anyone who could provide legal help.
He eventually found one, but months later was told there was no evidence of Al’s abuse and so he wouldn’t qualify.
Sarah asked, “So what should I do? Represent myself?” I replied. “And he said, ‘Yes, you should represent yourself.’
“It blew my mind,” he continued. “I couldn’t believe that criminals automatically had access to help, whereas someone trying to fight for their daughter got nothing.”
As her court date was fast approaching and she had no money to pay for advice, Sarah had to appear in court alone. On the other side, Al had hired a top lawyer.
“I felt so small; it was one of the worst times of my life,” he said. “I was a little old for someone who did this every day for a living.
“How can you call this a fair?”
The experience broke her down, and eventually Sarah told Al she agreed to things she “wasn’t ready for”, including giving him access to Elsie overnight.
He’s not the only one having difficulty accessing help. In 2013, the government introduced the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act (LASPO), which removed large areas of law from the legal aid budget.
Government data shows that since the introduction of LASPO, the number of family cases in which neither party has legal representation has tripled from 13 per cent to 39 per cent.
Richard Miller, head of justice at the Law Society, said: Independent A dramatic decline in the number of legal aid providers has left the “poorest members of society” forced to represent themselves in court.
“Legal aid is a vital public service and is currently under extreme pressure,” he explained. “What we have seen over the last few years is that the number of firms working in this field and the number of lawyers working in this field has decreased every year and there is no longer sufficient coverage to meet the needs of the public across the country.”
He added that the aim of legal aid was to “level the playing field”, as family breakdown cases like Sarah’s often create an “imbalance of power”. But their research shows that many people living below the poverty line are left without assistance.
Mr Miller added that to save legal aid, the government must commit to increasing rates for lawyers providing the service. “Research shows that the majority of firms providing civil legal aid experience significant losses by doing so,” he said.
As a result, he said Law Society data shows that at least one in three people live in a “legal aid desert” with no providers available and they are unable to access the advice they are entitled to.
Isabella Lowenthal-Isaacs, policy director at Women’s Aid, said it was “clear” that we are “a long way from ensuring the courts are safe for women and children victims of domestic violence”.
“We know from our work with survivors that women are often disbelieved, their experiences of domestic violence are ignored, and children’s voices are routinely silenced,” she continued.
The requirement to “prove” abuse leaves survivors without representation and at increased risk of harm, she said.
“The system that has long benefited perpetrators of domestic abuse needs to change,” he added. “Women’s experiences must be listened to and legal assistance must be provided to ensure that decisions are fair and equitable.”
A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: “This is a sad case and our thoughts are with the victim.
“Legal aid is available in family court cases for victims of domestic violence, but applicants must meet eligibility criteria, including evidence such as a police caution or court order. We know this can be difficult for those dealing with trauma, but these requirements help ensure that support is provided fairly and consistently.”
*Names have been changed to protect the source’s anonymity.
