A MUM from south Essex has thrown her weight behind a campaign calling for a public inquiry into the family court system.

Ellie Yarrow-Sanders, 26, has backed The Court Said, a nationwide campaign which believes victims of domestic violence are neglected by the family courts.

Brentwood Live:

Mum - Ellie with her son, above and below

Brentwood Live:

Miss Yarrow-Sanders was subject to a widespread appeal in December when she disappeared with her three-year-son during court litigation with her ex-partner. She returned home in March, and the case has since resumed behind closed doors.

The Court Said is raising £2,500 to create placards with anonymous quotes from people who have been through the family courts to display en masse in Parliament Square, London.

The campaign hopes to highlight the experiences of victims who have been through the system.

Miss Yarrow-Sanders, from Basildon, said: “I feel The Court Said shows the scale of the problem victims face when going through the family court system. I will be supporting in every way I can and hope that there are some substantial changes to the way all victims are listened to and protected through this process and beyond.

“It is intimidating and very easily open to further abuse and I applaud the brave women who campaign and create changes in attitude and hopefully laws such as Rachel Williams, Zoe Dronfield and many others.

“If there are any companies or organisations that would like to help make a difference it would be greatly appreciated.”

The campaign was founded earlier this year by Natalie Page, 39, from South Wales, who has been in ongoing family court litigation for the past seven years.

She said: “I have been hearing from survivors within the network in the community and am getting a strong feeling of what everyone else’s experiences are like. But we can never talk about it publicly.

“I noticed lots of other people had been subject to similar stress, anxiety and worry. I realised it wasn’t specifically to do with my case.”

In May, the Ministry of Justice announced a panel would be formed to analyse how the family courts protect children and parents in serious cases including domestic violence and rape. The panel was selected in June and will be carrying out their project over three months behind closed doors after a public call for evidence.

Justice Minister Paul Maynard, said: “Some of the most vulnerable in our society come before the family courts, and I am absolutely determined that we offer them every protection. This review will help us better understand victims’ experiences of the system, and make sure the family court is never used to coerce or re-traumatise.”

However Ms Page says the system needs a public inquiry. The campaign has set a provisional date of October 19 for their demonstration.

Ms Page added: “What we want is to get enough money together to pay for placards, which will have individual victim’s experiences on how they have been treated, things that have been said to them, to show the suffering there is behind it all.

“We need more people to be aware and highlight how bad the system is.”

For more information about the campaign, click here.