Do you want to be involved in our study?

Lived Experience of the Law: The Family Court

This project is funded by the Nuffield Foundation. It is exploring experiences of Family Court public law care proceedings in London. This is the first stage of a national study (England and Wales) to highlight lived experience of family (public and private) and criminal court proceedings. The project is being conducted by the Institute for Crime and Justice Policy Research, Birkbeck and the national charity Revolving Doors. Peer researchers who have first-hand knowledge of the justice system are part of our project team.

What we are aiming to do

We want to interview you to hear your account, in your words, of what it feels like to be a party in public law childcare proceedings. We are interested in your understanding of court processes and your legal rights, whether you felt listened to or were able to say what you wanted to say during hearings, challenges you faced and aspects of advice and support you found helpful. We also want to hear about what brought you to the family court and what impact proceedings have had on you.  

Project findings will be used in various ways.

The interview offers a chance to discuss your experiences and views of justice systems and processes and how you think these could be improved. Project findings will be fed back to the judiciary and other professionals who work in the justice system, and they will be used as a basis for discussions about the changes needed to policy, practice and public legal education to improve people’s experiences of the law.

What participation involves

We would like to interview anyone who has been a party in Public Law Care Proceedings in the past three years. We can conduct interviews at a time and place that is convenient for you. You will receive a £40 gift voucher for as a thank you for participating.

Click here to access the participant information sheet

Please contact Gill Hunter g.hunter@bbk.ac.uk or monica.thomas@revolving-doors.org.uk if you would like any further information about the project.