Philippa Bruce, expert solicitor in family law, says ‘the last thing’ a victim of abuse wishes to do after escaping domestic violence is to have to seek orders from the Family Court to take children away on holidays.
‘With the school summer holidays underway, this is when the Kent Law Clinic in Kent Law School is routinely called upon to give family law advice to a parent looking to take their child abroad for a holiday.
‘For some parents the prospect of arranging a summer holiday can be fraught with stress and anxiety. In England and Wales, separated parents need to obtain the other parent’s agreement to the child being taken out of the country for a holiday.
‘It may come as a surprise to hear that a parent can be guilty of child abduction, an offence punishable by up to seven years in prison, if they do not seek the permission of the other parent before taking a child on holiday.
‘Families can be stopped at passport control and if it is evident that a child is travelling without both parents, questions may be asked as to whether consent was obtained from the absent parent.
‘Sometimes, when two parents separate, intense disagreements arise over where a child should live and with whom they should spend their time. Holidays can often be brought in to that argument and it is not uncommon for consent to a holiday to be refused.
‘Usually, it is possible to advise a client that so long as they have evidence that they sought the consent of the other party and that the consent is being unreasonably refused, they are unlikely to be committing a child abduction offence if they go on holiday with the child.
‘Alternatively, if the facts support it, a client could make an application to the Family Court to obtain the court’s permission to remove the child from the jurisdiction for that specific holiday. Or apply for an order that allows them to take a child abroad for up to one month without the need to obtain the permission of the other party.
‘However, two cases have come in to the Clinic this year that have raised a more complicated issue. What if the party wishing to go on holiday with the child fled domestic violence and for several years has managed to live without the other parent knowing anything about their life?
‘What if a parent has genuine reasons to believe the other party would use the request as an opportunity to exert coercive or controlling behaviour over them again causing emotional abuse?
‘The facts of the two recent Clinic cases were very different, but the common theme between them was that both individuals had very good reasons for not wanting to contact their ex-partners and ask permission for a holiday. Both, in different ways, had suffered domestic abuse and the last thing they were prepared to do was to tell their ex-partner of their plans. In a strict legal sense, both clients were in a position where they would be committing an offence of child abduction if they took their child abroad on holiday without asking for the other parent’s consent.
‘The reality, of course, is that they would have a very good defence for committing any such offence. However, this may be of little comfort to a client who has to make a decision as whether to ‘risk’ the holiday in the first place. Travelling with children knowing that you could be committing an offence does not make for a relaxing summer holiday.’
Philippa Bruce, is a Kent Law Clinic Solicitor. She has worked in private practice specialising in family law and primarily undertaking legal aid work. Philippa is a member of the Law Society Children Panel and spent much of her career to date acting as an advocate for parents and children involved in care proceedings. In the Clinic she continues to specialise in family law.
Read Philippa Bruce in the Kent Law Clinic Blog