I proved abuse by my ex partner by producing irrefutable evidence. He was found guilty of the abuse in family court & it was acknowledged contact between my child & his father was dangerous. The abuse wasn’t specific to myself, he threatened to kill my child to hurt me, he also shook him before I intervened. Cafcass tried to play down the abuse & patronised me throughout the court process. Even laughing at points when I have questioned their negligent & highly inappropriate behaviour. I was FORCED by the courts to grant access, if I didn’t, I was threatened that my child could be taken from me & given to our abuser! Apparently a few weeks on an online ‘rehabilitation’ course for domestic violence & alcohol related issues is sufficient enough to deem a previously violent man completely fine to have unsupervised access to a young child. The whole process sickened me to my stomach, the stress made me ill & at the time my child was in & out of hospital with unexplained seizures. Cafcass & the courts during this awful time made me lose all faith in our justice system & as a result I quit my job in the police force (I was a serving officer at the time) I just don’t believe in our failing justice system anymore. Especially since the police are sadly also failing victims. Contact took place for around a year. After this period the police & child social care were involved after my child started refusing to go to his fathers. It turns out my child wasn’t comfortable being forced to sleep in bed with their 60 year old step grandfather.. completely naked! and then again with his aunts naked boyfriend! If you are a victim of domestic abuse, and you absolutely know your child is at risk from the other parent… take your child & run! It’s much better than the outcome. Cafcass cannot be trusted to safeguard your children, nor can the courts.