Comment | The Transparency Project

Mend law and save tragic kids?

by Lucy R | Aug 18, 2019 | Comment, FCReportingWatch

It’s a common mistake for journalists (and others) to refer to the Children’s Act. Pedantic family lawyers bristle at this (it’s the Children Act). But pedantry aside, this error is often a clue that something has been written without much input from...

An example of why headlines matter

by Lucy R | Aug 18, 2019 | Cases, Comment, Explanation, FCReportingWatch

We have seen a number of reports dealing with the sad story of a young father called Christopher Brown who took his own life by hanging. The reports follow a Coroner’s Inquest into the death and most have similar copy which suggest they are based upon a single...

How does the family court treat domestic abuse?: A ‘snapshot’ (continued – part 6)

by Sophie Smith Holland | Aug 17, 2019 | Analysis, Cases, Comment, FCReportingWatch

This is a post from Sophie Smith-Holland, who tweets as @SSmithHolland. With thanks also to Alice Twaite. The question of how the family court deals with domestic abuse has had a huge amount of public and media attention recently. Concerns have been raised...

What’s behind the headline: “Babies living with abusive parents under 24-hour CCTV, as Children’s Commissioner calls for review into the ‘Big Brother-style’ centres”?

by Lucy R | Aug 10, 2019 | Analysis, Cases, Comment, FCReportingWatch

[NB This post was updated on 20 August following response from Childrens’ Commissioner’s office – updates marked in square brackets] Last week, the Telegraph ran a piece from their social affairs correspondent Gabriella Swerling under this alarming...

How does the family court treat domestic abuse?: A ‘snapshot’ (continued – part 5)

by Sophie Smith Holland | Aug 6, 2019 | Analysis, Cases, Comment, FCReportingWatch

This is a post from Sophie Smith-Holland, who tweets as @SSmithHolland. With thanks to Alice Twaite. The question of how the Family Court deals with domestic abuse has had a huge amount of public and media attention recently. Concerns have been raised that the...

Capacity to consent to sexual relations: obscurity illuminated?

by Barbara Rich | Jul 23, 2019 | Analysis, Cases, Comment, Court of Protection, FCReportingWatch, Notorious

This post originally appeared on Medium and is republished with thanks. It deals with the recent judgment of the Court of Protection in London Borough of Tower Hamlets v NB (consent to sex) [2019] EWCOP 27 and the consequences of sensational commentary on it. The...