Image source, bbc

SNP MSP Rona Mackay asks about the training in the contact centres.

Stuart Valentine from Relationships Scotland says it depends on the role of the individual.

Mr Valentine says there is a higher level of training for those who undertake supervised contact.

He says all staff undergo training in child protection, domestic abuse and other areas.

Stuart Valentine from Relationships Scotland says there is a need for new risk assessments around domestic abuse cases.

Mr Valentine says this would make a radical difference to how these cases are dealt with in the courts.

SNP MSP Rona Mackay says judges need training in the area.

Mr Valentine says he would agree and that Relationships Scotland train people in supporting victims of domestic abuse.

Ms Lamont asks about when a child is in distress or unhappy at a contact centre.

Stuart Valentine from Relationships Scotland says a court ordered contact with a distressed child would not go ahead if the settled position of the child is that he or she did not wish to go through.

Image source, bbc

Ms Lamont asks if there is an obligation to make court ordered contact.

Mr Valentine says no and if children fundamentally do not want to go and see the parent then Relationships Scotland will not force this.

He stresses the importance of the child's safety and says the contact is supervised.

Mhairi McGowan from ASSIST says children's workers work with children daily and there are report writers talking to those children's workers for detail of each case.

Ms McGowan says there is a dearth of information out there.

"Unless we make sure children are at the centre they will not be safe," she says.

Image source, Children and Young People's Commissioner Scotland

From the Children and Young People's Commissioner Scotland website, external:

"The Children and Young People's Commissioner is a person.

"Their job is to help you understand your rights and to make sure those rights are respected.

"Their goal is for children and young people in Scotland to be as safe and happy as possible."

The current Commissioner is Bruce Adamson. He looks after the rights of:

• everyone in Scotland under 18
• everyone in Scotland under 21 who has been looked after or in care.

Read the full submission from the Children and Young People's Commissioner Scotland here., external

Image source, Children & Young People's Commissioner Scotland

Pauline McIntyre from the Children & Young People's Commissioner Scotland says a form is not the way forward for children and young people.

She says they require a whole range of ways of interacting with the process.

Ms McIntyre points to the Power Up/Power Down project., external

She says: "We need a child centred system" that understands the aspects of abuse.

Dr Marsha Scott from Scottish Women's Aid says when the appropriate training is put in place in the hearing you see really good outcomes.

Dr Scott says sheriffs and social workers should have domestic abuse training.

Dr Marsha Scott from Scottish Women's Aid says in West Lothian, where she used to work, the concerns of children were not being heard by the courts.

Dr Scott says we were finding traumatised women and children coming through the system as a result.

She says someone was appointed to work with the children in the area.

Dr Scott says it doesn't take rocket-science or a huge amount of time but it takes someone who knows how to work with children.

"The lack of appropriate training," is an ongoing theme, she says.

Image source, Families Need Fathers Scotland

Here is the Families Need Fathers Scotlandwebsite, external.

Families Need Fathers Scotland is a registered Scottish charity (SC042817), external, with three staff: Ian Maxwell, external (national manager), John Forsyth, external (communications) and Alastair Williamson, external (outreach and partnership development).

Our purposes according to the constitution, external are:

1 For the relief of parents and their children and other close family members living in Scotland or having a family member in Scotland who are suffering from the consequences of divorce or separation by providing advice, assistance and other support and, in so doing, helping parents stay in touch with their children after divorce or separation

2 To further the emotional development of children in Scotland whose parents have divorced or separated by encouraging shared parenting arrangements which enable such children to have continuing and meaningful relationships with both their parents

3 To conduct study and research into problems concerned with children in Scotland who are deprived of the presence of a parent in their families, and into the problems concerned with establishing good relations between parents living apart from their children, and to publish the useful results of all such study and research in order to encourage appropriate changes in professional and public opinion;

Read the full submission from Families Need Fathers Scotland here., external

Ian Maxwell from Families Need Fathers raises an issue around the training of child welfare reporters.

Mr Maxwell says one of the crucial recommendations that they should have to take training in domestic abuse and parental alienation has not been implemented.

He says he thinks it is ridiculous that child welfare reporters do not get this training.

Image source, bbc

Mr Maxwell says the form children have to use is really dry, nasty and not child friendly in any way.

He says the confidentiality of children's views in a court session is really important.

The views of children are very important but it is the court that makes the ultimate decision he says.

Image source, Lamont

Ms Lamont asks how appropriate it is for a child to instruct a solicitor and asks if it should not be an independent children's worker.

Pauline McIntyre from the Children & Young People's Commissioner Scotland says there is an assumption that the child's view is being heard through the mother's solicitor.

Ms McIntyre says that can lead to manipulation and in an ideal world there would be an independent children's worker.

She says this is about the safety of the child.

Pauline McIntyre from the Children & Young People's Commissioner Scotland says this is a significant children's rights issue.

Ms Mcintyre says it takes into account the best interests of the child and the voice of the child.

She says children face barriers to getting across their views..

Children have the right not to be separated from their parent unless it is in their interests to be so, she says.

Image source, bbc

Ms McIntyre says children's voices were generally not believed.

She says it is now much more difficult for children to have legal representation.

The settings are not child friendly and it is almost impossible for children to be heard.

Mhairi McGowan from ASSIST says courts are being put in the position of making a decision before there are reports in front of them.

Ms McGowan says sheriffs don't get domestic abuse training.

She says there is an assumption that contact centres are safe but if no one is in that room, other than the couple, then no one has any idea of what is being said.

Image source, bbc

Ms Lamont says the committee is interested around security in contact centres.

Stuart Valentine from Relationships Scotland says one of the key developments he would like to see would be specialist risk assessments.

Mr Valentine says: "There is a significant gap in the process."

Image source, ASSIST

Established in 2004, ASSIST is a specialist domestic abuse advocacy and support service focussed on reducing risk and improving the safety of victims of domestic abuse.

Its aim is to ensure that all victims of domestic abuse – women, children and men – are safe, informed and supported throughout their involvement with the criminal justice system. It does that through providing a high quality service tailored to individual needs and circumstances.

Read the full submission from ASSIST here., external

Mhairi McGowan from ASSIST says contact in general where a relationship has broken down and contact where there has been domestic abuse are completely different things.

Ms McGowan says there is no regulation on contact centres and that anyone can set one up.

She says there was one case where a woman was refused permission to bring someone with her to the centre.

"We need to make sure children are safe" and "there needs to be a real shake-up of the system," she says.

Image source, Scottish Women's Aid

From the Scottish Women's Aid website, external:

Our vision

We believe that a world without domestic abuse is not just a dream, it is a possibility. Never doubt it – changing attitudes changes lives.

Our mission

The Women’s Aid network supports women, children and young people who have experienced domestic abuse across Scotland - from Shetland to the Borders and across a range of services.

We believe that nobody should live in fear, whatever their community. Scottish Women’s Aid is pleased to support our groups and our ultimate aim is to make everyone safer.

We work to achieve effective responses to domestic abuse – and we work to end violence against women by tackling its root cause, which is gender inequality.

Read the full submission from Scottish Woman's Aid here. , external