The change follows many years of tireless campaigning. According to the latest statistics from charity Women’s Aid, over the last 30 years 67 children have been killed during contact with a known abuser.

Josh said, “I have worked with organisations involved in preventing violence against women and girls for a long time, but my involvement in this particular issue began with a message from one of my constituents who was fighting to protect her child. The more I have campaigned on this, the more heartbreaking stories I’ve heard.”

After raising the issue at Prime Minister’s Questions in January this year, Josh met with the Minister responsible for the family courts. He has continued to raise the much-needed change in the law in Parliament and outside it, alongside fellow MPs including Yorkshire’s Marie Tidball (Penistone and Stocksbridge). Her constituent Claire Throssell’s sons, Jack and Paul, were killed by their father in a house fire 11 years ago during unsupervised contact.

Josh said “No child should ever be forced to be with an abuser because of our justice system. Children’s voices should be the loudest in our family courts. I pay tribute to the brave and determined parents, including Claire Throssell and my constituents, who have shared their most painful experiences to help us begin this process of change.”

This development is the latest in a raft of measures by the Labour Government to tackle abuse in the family courts and better protect children. Earlier this year it was announced they would expand pilots of “Pathfinder” courts, including a scheme in Calderdale. This work aims to improve the court experience and outcomes for children and parents involved in family law proceedings, including those who have experience of domestic abuse.   

The Government also announced plans this week to automatically restrict the exercise of parental responsibility in cases where a person with parental responsibility has been convicted of a serious sexual offence against any child, and where a child is born of rape. Protecting both mothers and children, these amendments to the Victims and Courts Bill are crucial to the government’s mission to halve violence against women and girls in a decade.