#Justice4Alison

End Institutional Racism in the Family Courts

 

This petition #Justice4Alison has been started by The Monitoring Group

 

Alison Wilson-Shaw is a Black woman and a proud mother to her 15-year-old son of mixed heritage. Both she and her son were born in Stoke on Trent, Staffordshire.

 

Alison married her husband in 2003. After fourteen years in the relationship, in 2017, she finally found the courage to protect her son and herself and ended an abusive marriage. Her husband was controlling in every domain of her life – emotionally, physically, psychologically and financially.

 

However, instead of being protected by the family courts and the justice system, she suffered racist stereotyping. Throughout the whole long and painful process and, at every level, she only encountered white officials who dismissed her assertions and allegations.

 

Since November 2017, Alison has attended over a dozen hearings at the Family Courts but all of these have ended in a failure despite compelling evidence in her favour.

 

Fearing further harm to her and her 13 year old son’s emotional and psychological welfare she was spurred on to take active steps to protect them both, Alison was forced to make an application for a non-molestation injunction and an occupation order.

 

Inexplicably, her application was dismissed despite the existence of strong evidence that included reports from police, MARAC and a domestic abuse worker. In this hearing, the judge made denigrating comments about Alison that bore little resemble to the evidence presented.

 

Since the separation, the husband has frequently breached contact orders. He continues to do this as a controlling mechanism and to turn the child against his Black mother. When Alison challenged a breach, the judge decided to proceed without a CAFCAS report and dismissed the application.

 

Alison is currently appealing against a judge’s decision that has unfairly ordered the transfer of the family home to the estranged husband even though he is not the primary carer.

 

Alison has also been failed by the justice system. Since 2017, she has contacted the police over 20 times hoping they will come to her and her child’s aid. She has provided them with formal witness statements but none have been acted upon properly.

 

In 2018, she complained to the police about their systematic and discriminatory treatment against her. She pleaded with them to “uphold the law regarding my human rights and equality”. She explained that a police officer had willingly supported her husband despite knowing he was lying and that Staffordshire police were “colluding with Mr. Shaw’s false statements”.

 

Remarkably, the allegation on collusion was upheld in an appeal by a senior police officer, DCI Downing, in August 2019 when she concluded, “I have made a decision that your appeal is upheld in relation to the interview conducted by PC Millard”.

 

DCI Downing’s findings stated,

“On a number of occasions the officer also uses leading questions, where he poses a question and then suggests the answer, which Mr. Shaw agrees with. This could be seen as the officer providing an empathetic response, but to an independent person, this could be perceived as acknowledging and supporting the suspect’s version of events”.

 

More damningly, she concluded,

”Throughout the interview, the officer does make a number of less than professional remarks and comments which to an independent person listening to the recording, could be construed as validating Mr. Shaw’s account”.

 

Ironically, the discredited interview was described by the judge sitting during the non-molestation injunction hearing as an “extensive police interview” and used as a basis to determine the judgment in the husband’s favour.

 

Alison’s experience of racism at the family courts has left her battered and devastated but she is determined to use her experience to make a difference.

 

She says, “My son and I have been failed by the courts because the colour of our skin. The courts have allowed my husband to enjoy white privilege even though he is in the wrong. Please help us to bring an end to institutional racism within the Family Courts and the Justice system. There are other Black women and women of colour who are treated in similar fashion on a daily basis. This has to stop”.

 

Alison’s voice needs to be heard and acknowledged.

 

This is the first ever campaign to raise the real problem of racism in the family courts in the UK. Will you be a part of a unique journey for change?

 

#Justice4Alison is demanding:

 

·       An independent review into Alison’s case

·       An Independent Inquiry into the experience of Black and women of colour within the family court and justice system

 

Contact #Justice4Alison by E: office@tmg-uk.org