Teddy bear protest sheds light on family court delays
Campaigners say each toy represents the pain of children separated from parents due to lengthy court proceedings
Numerous teddy bears have been placed outside Northampton County Court as part of a nationwide campaign calling for changes to the family justice system.
The demonstration has been organised by People Against Parental Alienation (PAPA) which supports parents who say they have been wrongly denied contact with their children.
Founder Simon Cobb said the Lost Years campaign aimed to show the emotional impact family court delays can have on children and families across Northamptonshire.
“Every single teddy bear or soft toy represents a child who’s losing precious time, precious moments with a parent or family members because of the family court delays,” he said.
The display, which also includes signs and a pushchair, has been set up on the street outside the court rather than on court property.
“Families stuck in the system for years”
Cobb said the organisation had members across Northamptonshire, including in Northampton, Wellingborough and Kettering, and had recently worked with families involved in cases going through Northampton and Wellingborough courts.
He said the group wanted to raise awareness of what it believes are long-running delays in the family court system.
“Children only have one childhood,” he said.
“There should not be a situation where parents and children are stuck in the family court system for years on end.”
PAPA says it supports parents where there are no safeguarding concerns and where a parent is allegedly being denied contact with their child without good reason. Cobb stressed the group did not advocate for parents where there were genuine safeguarding concerns.
“The child’s best interest is to have a loving relationship with both parents where safe to do so,” he added.
Calls for stronger enforcement
The campaign is also calling for stronger enforcement of child contact orders made through the courts.
Cobb said many parents felt court orders were routinely ignored without consequences. “When the family court has deemed a contact arrangement to be made, that needs to be enforced,” he said.
“There should be consequences if a parent is deliberately restricting contact to a loving parent.”
PAPA recently carried out what it described as an independent “Family Justice Transparency Report”, involving nearly 1,500 participants nationwide.
The organisation says families from Northamptonshire contributed to the findings, which highlighted concerns about delays and enforcement.
Impact on mental health
Cobb said losing contact with a child could have a severe emotional impact on parents and children alike. He described it as a form of “ambiguous loss” grieving for someone who is still alive but absent from daily life.
“It really does take a huge toll on parents’ mental health and, most importantly, it has a huge impact on children’s mental health,” he said.
The group says it is also working with researchers at the University of West London on studies into the long-term effects on children.
PAPA is encouraging people affected by family court issues to visit the demonstration, leave toys in support, contact MPs and share the campaign online.
Cobb said the organisation had informed relevant court and justice bodies before demonstrations were staged.
“The Ministry of Justice are aware that the family court system is not working very well,” he said.
“We’re not here to antagonise - we want to help drive change.”
The Northampton display is expected to remain in place for around two weeks.
People seeking support or more information can visit PAPA’s website at papaorg.co.uk or access its support groups on social media.