A CAMPAIGNING mother whose two sons were killed in a house fire deliberately started by their father has helped campaign for a new draft bill which will stop domestic abusers being able to cross examine their victims in family courts.
In 2014 Claire Throssell’s two sons, Jack and Paul, 12 and nine, died in a house fire which was started by their father, Darren Sykes, after he lured them into the attic with the promise of a new train set.
Since then Claire has been campaigning with Women’s Aid for a change in the legal system to stop offenders of domestic abuse being able to cross-examine their victims in family courts.
Justice secretary David Gauke outlined the new measures introduced by the government in a conference last week.
Claire welcomed the bill, but said she had mixed feelings after all she’d been through,
“It’s bittersweet,” said Claire.
“It just doesn’t feel like a celebration at all because the boys aren’t here with me, but for future generations to come it will make such a big difference.
“I had to get a petition which had so many signatures for it to reach Parliament and that took around a year, then I went to Downing Street where I took 20 teddies and lined them up against the railings, I did that because that’s how many children were killed between 2005 and 2015 due to them not having a voice.”
Claire has been delivering talks across the country to family court judges about what she has been through and the movement that she is involved with to get their opinions on the movement.
Mr Gauke said of the bill: “When we started the consultation process we did so with an open mind but with four key objectives.
“Our first was promoting awareness. The idea that domestic abuse is something for families to address behind closed doors is now, thankfully, an outdated one.
“Our second objective was how we can better protect and support our victims.”
He said the move was part of ‘Clare’s Law’, which is an initiative named after 36-year-old Clare Wood was murdered by her ex-boyfriend in 2009.
“Clare’s Law the Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme - was an important step forward in making information available to potential victims about abusers’ history.
“It is now time that Clare’s Law becomes law in the very real sense of the word.
“Our third objective was how we can transform the justice process for abuse victims.
“Going through the justice system can be a scary and bewildering experience for any victim, let alone one who has experienced domestic abuse.
“Our fourth and final objective in this process was how we can improve performance.
“As a government we are committed to using high-quality data to underpin our policy making and following the evidence on what works.”
The Ministry of Justice, along with the Home Office, has presented to parliament a detailed impact assessment of the bill that outlines it’s costs and benefits.
