Rhian, a mum of two, made an appointment to see us, wanting assistance with child arrangements form as her former partner was restricting her from seeing her children.

The first 45 minutes of the appointment were spent just talking through Rhian’s case with her. Rhian talked openly about the abuse she had experienced in her marriage. It had started a long time ago, prior to the birth of her first child, but had escalated once he was born. She discussed in-depth what she had gone through, with two Support Through Court volunteers, Mari and Rosanna, sitting with her, providing her with emotional support throughout.

Mari and Rosanna took notes as Rhian shared and after listening to her case, and, when she felt ready to do so, together they completed the C100 child arrangements form with her. Rhian had dyslexia and had mentioned that she had tried to complete the form herself previously but found it too difficult to understand. She could not afford a solicitor. Our volunteers took their time with the form, filling in everything she wanted the court to be aware of, particularly the domestic abuse she had suffered and the fears she had regarding the wellbeing of her child if he were to stay with her ex-partner and his family. It was a very heavy case, and we took regular breaks when Rhian became too overwhelmed and supported her emotionally throughout.

Once the form was completed, Rosanna and Mari also completed an EX160 ‘Help with Fees’ form to ensure that she would not be charged for the C100 as she was on universal credit and struggling financially after leaving her partner. We discussed with her what she needed to do with the forms, as well as her next steps regarding how the court would get in touch with her, how soon considering the risk of wellbeing to her son and what she should expect from attending a hearing. The volunteers also told her that they would be able to attend the hearing with her to take notes and provide support if she would like them to and signposted her to domestic abuse charities in case she needed any further support regarding what she had experienced.

Rhian repeatedly expressed how grateful she was that a service like Support Through Court existed. She told us how worried she was about facing the justice system alone, especially considering she could not afford legal advice and was dyslexic. Having someone who would just listen to her case without judgment and help her fill out forms where she had previously struggled was a huge help both practically and emotionally and she emailed to say she did not know what she would have done without that help. Rhian was clearly very emotional about all she’d been through, but she said repeatedly how nice it was to have someone to talk to about it who would just listen, and that she was really grateful for the time Mari and Rosanna had taken to hear her story.

* Name changed to protect client