Member

We must also recognise that not all threats come from parents. Many come from the wider environment—from peers in school, from online exploitation, from institutional neglect. It is often the parent acting to protect their child by withdrawing them, yet under the current drafting of the Bill, that parent could be prevented from acting, simply because a procedural flag has been triggered. We risk inadvertently empowering the abuser or perpetuating harm by blocking a parent’s ability to protect their child. The law must draw a sharp line between threats from parents and threats that the child, with the parent, is actively trying to prevent.