Please join this protest, in place of our usual monthly picket of the central family court. During Covid19 we are continuing to put the spotlight on the family court whenever we can. We are quoted extensively in the Independent objecting to remote hearings in the family courts – see our demands here So we hope you’ll join us on a twitter storm/virtual protest at the time we normally picket: Wednesday 6 May – 12.30 to 1.30. We’ll use the hashtag #SupportNotSeparation in our tweets toSecretary of State for Justice, Robert Buckland MP @RobertBuckland and Shadow Minister for Domestic Violence and Safeguarding, Jess Phillips MP @jessphillips As the Domestic Abuse Bill is now going through Committee stage in Parliament this is our opportunity to press for it to be extended to make sure domestic violence survivors get the resources we need and are not penalised by having our children taken away! We’re particularly highlighting this together with Black Women’s Rape Action Project and Women Against Rape who are members of SNS. See their proposed amendments to the Bill here. Please use freely or do your own! · Mothers must be able to afford to care for their children & keep them safe during #COVID19. Poverty is not neglect. No child should be taken into “care” because parents can’t afford food, clothing or housing. #CareIncomeNow · Domestic Abuse Bill must go further to protect mothers from their abuser in family courts. See our amendments #DomesticAbuse · Stop remote hearings that take kids from mums. · End the presumption of fathers’ access to children regardless of a history of violence. Prioritise the safety and wishes of children & mums. #DomesticAbuse · End the use of ‘parental alienation’ to remove children from mums. No more junk ‘science’ by misogynists. #DomesticAbuse · Sack family judges who disbelieve mums + kids reporting violence; criminal law applies in family courts too! Open the courts to public scrutiny. #DomesticAbuse We hope you and your loved ones are keeping safe and well, and we look forward to being in touch remotely! CORONAVIRUS EMERGENCY: a threat to mothers and children already targeted by poverty, child removal, and domestic violence. CHILDREN NEED THEIR MUMS – CARE INCOME NOW! The corona virus doesn’t respect class, even the Prime Minister got it. But everyone now knows that the poorer we are the more likely we are to die, especially those of us who are from BAME communities. Millions of families are being thrown into further poverty by Covid-19. The 4m children already living in poverty have been joined by millions more as jobs and incomes are lost on a massive scale. Children from poor areas are 10 times more likely to be taken into “care” by children services conflating poverty with neglect. Of families whose children are taken, 75% are single mothers. Many are families of colour who are likely to have the lowest income. Now, children not in school are likely to go hungry as they do in the summer holidays without the school meals they depend on, and food banks are closing for lack of donations . . . continues here. WE DEMAND A Care Income for single mothers and other primary carers whose indispensable caring work is invisible and devalued. Mothers must be able to afford to care for their children and keep them safe during this crisis. Poverty is not neglect and no child should be taken into “care” or forcibly adopted because parents can’t afford food or clothing or housing. Appropriate emergency housing for women and children escaping domestic violence. A freeze on rent, mortgage and utility bill payments until further notice. Universal Credit should be paid immediately from day one. The two-child limit and overall benefits cap must be abolished. Schools must provide free breakfast and lunch every day during this crisis for all children who need it. The government allowance of £3 a day per child is not enough. Resources must be provided for children in state “care” to have regular on line contact with their birth mothers, siblings and other family members. Children’s contact with fathers who have been reported for violence should be stopped. The work of caring for people of all ages is always crucial but this pandemic has brought home how essential it is to survival. If mothers were paid for our caring work we could care for our children safely at home. See statement from Global Women’s Strike. |
Support Not Separation 