Domestic violence: Two girls taken from mother to live with abusive father fled in middle of night

Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. The case has been explored in new research by University College London, which reports that unregulated experts appointed by family courts in England and Wales have harmed children by taking them away from their mothers, and making them either live with or have contact with fathers accused of domestic violence. Be a brick, buy a brick and donate here or text BRICK to 70560 to donate £15 The vulnerable girls, who accused their father of coercive control and physical and sexual abuse, had been forced to live with him under a “reunification” plan put forward by an unregulated expert and independent social worker. “These cases show the harm of the ‘alienation’ belief system, which has become a legal weapon that serves to punish and control those who speak up about their lived abuse experiences. They also show the potential harm of the family court-appointed ‘experts’, unregulated as well as regulated, who claim to be trained and able to identify so-called alienation.” The courts “went to brutal lengths to reconcile children with their fathers despite the children’s feelings and fears related to living with them”, she warned.