AddressTheHarm®️
The voices that Britain's institutions work hardest to silence finally have a platform. From Home Office failures to police cover-ups, survivors have become unwilling experts in institutional failure. They know what went wrong, why it keeps happening, and how to stop it. But institutions rarely ask them.
On Address The Harm, we do.
Every episode, we centre the voices of those who've experienced institutional harm across multiple sectors - NHS healthcare, social care, safeguarding services, police, family courts, and beyond. These aren't just stories of what went wrong. They're blueprints for what could go right.
Our guests share their insights from experiencing these systems from all sides - as service users, employees, and advocates. They reveal the devastating pattern of institutional self-investigation that re-traumatises survivors while protecting organisational reputation.
Because when institutions finally listen to those they've failed, that's when real accountability becomes possible.
AddressTheHarm®️
Breaking the Cycle of Domestic Abuse in Family Courts with Fair Hearing
https://www.youtube.com/@AddressTheHarm
Address The Harm®️ podcast: breaking the cycle of domestic abuse in the family courts
Episode description
Cristina Odone and Julia Margo from Fair Hearing expose how Britain's family courts fail domestic abuse survivors. After enduring 10 years of litigation and 37 hearings, Julia transformed her experience into systemic change—training over 200 senior judges and establishing domestic abuse education at the Judicial College.
Together, they secured £283m government funding for victim support and fought for landmark legislative reform. Since recording, amendments to the Victims and Courts Bill now automatically remove parental responsibility from serious sex offenders who've abused their own child. The government announced plans to repeal the 'presumption of contact' recital in the Children's Act.
Yet 99% of family court cases still result in unsupervised contact, even where serious abuse is proven. Cristina and Julia reveal why: 80% legal aid cuts, pseudo-experts pushing parental alienation theory, and Article 8 rights that make reform near-impossible.
One in four adults experiences domestic abuse. The evidence for reform is overwhelming. So why won't institutions change?
Content warning: This episode discusses domestic violence, child abuse and suicide. Listener discretion is advised.
Key quotes
"I lost my cognitive function for a time... PTSD and the health impacts of domestic abuse are treatable and one can recover. I've recovered."
"19 children were killed over 18 years by a parent who had been accused of domestic abuse. That's 19 children over 18 years."
"For a victim, it is not the outcome of the hearing that is so important, it is the fact that she has been heard. Validation is so important to them."
"I wouldn't be working in this area if I didn't think there was the potential for change. I've seen so much change since we started working in this area."
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Email: press@addresstheharm.org
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Hosted by: Leah Brown FRSA (@leahtalks_)
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