A new UK law could mean that convicted paedophiles who are parents could be stripped of their rights to see their own children. The proposed law change came after the BBC reported that a mother spent £30,000 in legal fees to stop her paedophile ex-husband seeing their daughter.
Last November, Cardiff Family Court ruled in the mother’s favour and restricted the father’s rights. The young girl’s father is now forbidden from any contact with his daughter until she turns 18 – something the Welsh mother said was a ‘relief’ during media interviews.
The father reserved rights over his daughter, despite being barred from having contact with any other child.
He retained influence over his daughter’s schooling, health and travel, even during his stint in prison – which caused the daughter issues when going on holiday.
The new law has garnered support from government officials, with Labour MP Harriet Harman proposing an amendment to upcoming legislation on the matter. The new law will pertain to the most severe sexual offence – rape of a child under 13 years of age.
The MP has been quoted as saying to the BBC that ‘paedophiles who were guilty of that crime in the future would be “automatically deprived” of their parental rights’. The paedophile would only have their rights reinstated if they could successfully persuade the family courts it was “in the child’s best interest”. Asked why she thought the parental rights of convicted child sex offenders had been protected until now, Ms Harman blamed the “old hangover of the patriarchy which is that the father somehow has proprietorial rights”.
Harman said:
“He will be able to get them back only if he goes to the family courts and is able to persuade them that it is in the child’s best interests that his parental rights are restored. In the case of a child rapist that is unlikely.”
Reportedly the Lord Chancellor is in agreement of the proposed amendment.
