A letter jointly signed by over 130 solicitors – which includes Melanie Bridgen from our Family Law team – and women’s rights organisations – including Rape Crisis England & Wales, Women’s Aid and the Centre for Women’s Justice – has called for a comprehensive review of all current family cases that are being heard by Judge Tolson, who is one of a number of family Court Judges who hold “outdated views”.
The letter references a case which Judge Tolson was overseeing in which a woman claimed she had been raped by her former partner but Judge Tolson dismissed the claim due to the fact that the woman had done “nothing physically” to prevent it happening.
JH v MF
The high profile case mentioned in the letter received much media coverage at the end of January 2020, and Judge Tolson was heavily criticised at the time.
The case related to a father who had requested to spend time with his son, who was under the care of his mother. The mother did not consent to him spending time with their son as she claimed that he had raped her.
Judge Tolson dismissed this claim as the mother “was not in any sense pinned down”, she “could easily, physically, have made life harder” for him, and as a result of this, it “did not constitute rape”.
The mother appealed the decision of Judge Tolson and the High Court upheld the ruling due to its handling. The Court of Appeal Judge, Ms Justice Russell, ordered that a fresh case be heard before a different Judge.
Ms Russell also commented that training was required for Judges on how to deal with cases, such as this, which involve allegations of rape and sexual abuse.
The jointly written letter comments that Judge Tolson’s and other similar Court judgment’s “leave children and women at risk of serious harm”. Adding:
“Increasingly, the courts are no longer seen as a safe place for women who have been abused.”
Training on the meaning of consent
The letter references the comments of Ms Russell and welcomes them, but adds that:
“There are wider systemic issues, including some lack of understanding of domestic abuse and serious sexual assault and a failure to apply the practice directions to afford victims a fair trial.
“This is despite training and clear rules.”
It also calls for:
- More accountability on Judges in relation to their judgments;
- The inclusion of “appropriately trained domestic-abuse champions in each family Court”; and
- Training in relation to the meaning of consent.
In response to the letter, the UK Judiciary issued the following statement:
“prior to the delivery of the appeal judgment [in the Judge Tolson case], the president of the Family Division had asked the Judicial College to provide additional bespoke training in dealing with cases of sexually related assault for judges trying domestic abuse cases in the Family Court.
“The enhanced training will be delivered – initially electronically – from May 2020 and from then on will be included in every continuation training course for the Family judiciary.”
How Nelsons can help
At Nelsons, our team of specialist family law solicitors are experienced in protecting victims of rape and domestic abuse and will respond quickly to an enquiry. Our team understand how distressing abuse is and handle all cases with sensitivity and professionalism with the aim of protecting a victim from further abuse.
If you need any help regarding sexual assault, domestic violence or any other family law related matters, please contact Melanie Bridgen or another member of our team in Derby, Leicester and Nottingham on 0800 024 1976 or via our online form.