Contact Arragment

[Nori3]

My husband is banned to contact me for the next three month due to abuse reports made to the police. He is however is allowed to visit his child who now lives with me.
The police said that he could be arranged via a mediator such as his friend or social services.
Please can you give me how such visits are conducted via a mediator with some one on pre charge bail. I am wondering if any one has such experience so to understand what the visits would be like, for how long or where and how to manage communication with the mediator please? Thank you in advance, Nori3

[Suzie, FRG Adviser]

Dear Nori3

Welcome back to the parents’ discussion board. Thank you for your post.

You explain that your husband is prohibited from contacting you as he is under police investigation due to allegations of abuse. You want to know how he can see his child who now lives with you. It is not clear if ‘his’ child is also your child. The police have suggested that contact could be arranged via a mediator e.g. a friend or children’s services.

I am sorry to hear that you may have experienced domestic abuse from your husband. As your husband is a father and is subject to a criminal investigation, police should have made a referral to children’s services so that they can assess the situation. This would include considering safe contact arrangements for the child to see their father which also keep you safe. Children’s services are the lead agency in this situation e.g. in promoting children’s welfare and safety. You can find out more about how children’s services work here.

I would recommend that you contact children’s services directly to clarify their current role and to query how they can support safe contact between the child and their father. He can put forward a friend or family member who could be responsible for arranging and if necessary, supervising the contact arrangements. Children’s services may want to assess their suitability to do so.

Another option for contact is via a contact centre where a contact centre worker could mediate arrangements. You can find details of the National Association of Child Contact Centres here. They have a range of advice and services for parents including about mediation. Your husband should take the lead in trying to make arrangements to see his child.

I am including a link to domestic abuse FAQs here and a link to domestic abuse support services here which I hope will be helpful to you. They include advice about contact arrangements when there are concerns about domestic abuse.

If you have any further queries, please post back on this forum or via one of the following advice options:

• By calling our freephone advice line on 0808 8010366, Mon to Fri, 9.30 am to 3.00 pm
• By sending an Advice enquiry form
• By using our live Webchat.

I hope this is helpful.

Best wishes

Suzie