Domestic abuse in family court cases — what the data actually shows
REVIEWED BY: Sean McNamara on 2026-08-30
If you are involved in a child arrangements case and domestic abuse is part of your history, it helps to know you are not an edge case — official data shows abuse features in a majority of private law children cases. This guide sets out what Cafcass, the Domestic Abuse Commissioner and researchers have published, and what it means practically. It is general information, not legal advice.
Cafcass data: the scale
Cafcass publishes monthly demand statistics and quarterly board papers. Key published findings:
- Over half of closed private law children's cases involve domestic abuse identified as a factor. Cafcass board papers for 2025–26 report that of closed private law children's cases, roughly 57% involved identified domestic abuse — tens of thousands of families per year
- In 2026, between April and July, Cafcass received 14,870 new private law children's cases involving 22,603 children — demand up over 13% on the previous year
- Where domestic abuse was identified, around 14.4% of closed cases involved a section 16A urgent risk assessment being filed with the court
- Demand pressure is substantial: over 29,000 open children's cases (46,750 children) were outstanding at July 2026
Independent research: the "everyday business" finding
The Domestic Abuse Commissioner's 2025 report "Everyday Business" observed child arrangements hearings and reviewed hundreds of closed case files across three courts:
- Evidence of domestic abuse was found in 87% of case files and 73% of observed hearings — leading the Commissioner to conclude that domestic abuse is not the exception but the "everyday business" of the family courts
- Yet only 4% of cases in the file sample had a fact-finding hearing about the abuse, and abuse was a live issue at hearing in only 42% of cases where it was mentioned at all
- In more than a fifth of cases where abuse was reported to Cafcass at the safeguarding interview, it was left out of, or minimised in, the safeguarding letter
- A C1A (the form alleging harm) was filed in only 59% of cases where it should have been
Practice Direction 12J — the court's rulebook
Where domestic abuse is alleged, PD12J requires the court to:
- consider at the first hearing whether the nature of any allegations requires a fact-finding hearing before welfare decisions are made
- ensure special measures (separate entrances, screens, remote attendance, separate waiting rooms) are considered for the victim
- not presume that contact with both parents is in the child's interests where abuse is established — the welfare analysis must address the abuse directly
- consider whether an agreement is safe — pressure to mediate or agree is not appropriate where abuse or coercive control makes genuine agreement impossible
Practical takeaways
1. Raise abuse clearly at the start — in the C1A attached to your C100 and in your safeguarding responses to Cafcass; the official data shows under-reporting at intake is common and consequential 2. Ask for PD12J to be applied by name at the first hearing — courts must consider fact-finding and special measures 3. Keep evidence — police records, medical notes, messages, witness names; the research shows allegations noted but not carried through are a real risk 4. Support through the process — IDVA services (where available), Support Through Court, and the National Domestic Abuse Helpline (0808 2000 247) 5. Fact-finding is not automatic — you may need to justify why findings are necessary; a focused, proportionate request is more persuasive than a maximal one
Official links
- Practice Direction 12J (justice.gov.uk)
- Cafcass — our data
- Domestic Abuse Commissioner — Everyday Business report (2025)
- C1A — allegations of harm form (gov.uk)
- National Domestic Abuse Helpline: 0808 2000 247
YourFamilyCase.co.uk is an independent information directory — we are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to Cafcass, MoJ, or gov.uk. This page is general information and is not legal advice. If you are in immediate danger, call 999.
Content verified against the official HMCTS court directory, gov.uk forms and fees pages, and the professional body registers (SRA, FMC, Bar Council). Last reviewed September 2026.