CoramBAAF has launched the Racial Justice Family Network (RJFN), bringing together social work and legal professionals, judges, academics, and people with lived experience to promote anti-racist practice in family justice.
Originally incubated by Nuffield Family Justice Observatory, the RJFN will now be hosted by CoramBAAF, with a focus on promoting anti-racist initiatives and anti-discriminatory practices throughout the family justice system to address systemic discrimination, racism and inequities. Its goal is to improve outcomes for Black, Global Majority and other ethnically minoritised children, families and professionals.
Drawing on the latest research and evidence-informed practice, the RJFN aims to advance a comprehensive understanding of how racism is limiting the choices that are available to some children and families. It aims to equip the family justice system with the knowledge, values, and skills needed to build on opportunities for transformative change.
Under CoramBAAF the RFJN aims to extend its geographical reach and grow its network, fostering shared learning, encouraging active participation, and drawing insights from existing initiatives. The organisation will meet quarterly and provide a forum for member organisations to work collaboratively, share information and best practices, identify common areas of interest or concern, explore ideas, discuss priorities, and pinpoint specific issues requiring collective action. Augusta Itua, Legal Consultant at CoramBAAF and Chair of the RJFN, said:
“The launch of the Racial Justice Family Network marks a crucial step toward embedding anti-racist practices within the family justice system. By bringing together voices from social work, law, academia, and those with lived experience, RJFN is creating a space to not only discuss but actively address the structural inequities that impact Black, Global Majority, and other ethnically minoritised children and families. Grounded in research and evidence-informed practice, we are committed to driving meaningful change that enhances equity, improves outcomes, and ensures that the family justice system in England and Wales is inclusive and reflective of all the communities we serve.”
Dr Beverley Barnett-Jones, Associate Director at Nuffield Family Justice Observatory and one of the founders of RFJN, said that itt has been an “honour to bring together this network”. They added:
“Many concerned individuals and organisations came together in the Black Lives Matter moment with an acute focus on the outcomes and disparities faced by many ethnically minoritised children, families and communities in the UK. In any struggle for equity and justice, it is people who make the difference – in what they say, in how they say it, and in what they are prepared to do to bring about the necessary change. The RFJN has demonstrated that continued commitment time and time again and I know the network will go from strength to strength under the guidance and support of CoramBAAF.”
