A single mother and domestic abuse survivor is taking the Ministry of Justice to court this week after being refused legal aid because she was deemed to have no dependents, even though she had applied for the funding to enforce a child custody arrangement.
Susie (not her real name) and her abusive ex-partner initially shared custody of their son equally, but when he breached their agreement, limiting her access, she applied for legal aid to assert her rights.
However, in a decision her lawyers say has wider ramifications for domestic abuse survivors, the Legal Aid Agency (LAA) decided that as her son was not presently living with her, he was not her dependent. The result was that she was not deemed to have costs relating to him which meant the LAA found that her disposable income was too high to qualify for legal aid.
Susie, who is training to be a healthcare professional, said: “I’m trying to get him back from somebody I know is alcohol dependent, so already as a mother, I am super stressed. To then find that actually, I have to tick a box to say I have no child … It’s almost kind of slapping you in the face again.
“It’s just awful because he’s not my dependent according to the LAA, but he is. I want him to be with me because I don’t want him to be in that situation.”
Susie said she lived in a “constant state of anxiety” with her partner, who would abuse her verbally and physically when he had been drinking, and that she still suffered from night terrors. She said she “escaped a relationship which was incredibly abusive; only to be further abused by a legal aid system which vilifies those who are trying to make a home for