Leeds Domestic Violence Service is delighted to collaborate on the Family Court Independent Domestic Violence Adviser (IDVA) delivery model of the West Yorkshire Pathfinder Programme (WYPP) alongside lead partner Staying Put and additional West Yorkshire partners, Leeds Women’s Aid, Behind Closed Doors, Women Centre, Pennine Domestic Abuse Partnership (Wakefield provider to be confirmed).
The Pathfinder pilot in West Yorkshire works by bringing together The Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Services (Cafcass), all five local authorities, police and support services to gather and share information on family court cases as early as possible. This saves children and families from having to go through unnecessary and potentially hostile hearings. As part of delivering on its Plan for Change and mission to halve violence against women and girls, the scheme also provides extra support to survivors of domestic abuse.
Since March 2022, the Pathfinder Pilot Scheme has been trialled in the family courts in North Wales and Dorset. The scheme was implemented to trial a more problem-solving approach, which is aimed to improve the court experience and outcomes for survivors of domestic abuse and to ensure that the voice of the child is the focal point in proceedings. From 28th May 2024, the pilot was introduced to Birmingham Family Court as well as courts located in South Wales and from 3rd June 2025 the pilot is being introduced in West Yorkshire the largest Pathfinder pilot area with multiple courts
The Mayor of West Yorkshire was successful in being awarded funding from the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) to ensure the essential IDVA services are available to support families going through Family Court proceedings. A £385,000 grant has been awarded to WYPP by the Mayor for an initial 12 months to deliver the service.
Yasmin Khan, CEO, Staying Put, the lead partner of the programme said: “I am so proud of our partnership; we will be working collaboratively to safeguard survivors going through the family court process. We are passionate about our trauma informed service and doing anything we can do to make the lives of those going through the family court process easier.
We will learn from the current Pathfinder Pilot schemes, transforming and building on the outcomes for survivors and their families across West Yorkshire. We will adopt a flexible and trauma informed approach to supporting all survivors and their children to ensure their voice is heard, reducing repeat rate and the backlog of the number of open cases.”
Deputy Mayor for Policing and Crime, Alison Lowe OBE, said: “Domestic abuse has a devastating impact on survivors – and too often hostile family court proceedings can prolong that trauma. We are pleased to fund the IDVA part of the Pathfinder pilot here in West Yorkshire to support survivors and spare them, and their families, from going through unnecessary hearings.
“This partnership approach will not only safeguard survivors, but ensure their voices are heard and listened to, as we seek better outcomes for those who have lived through domestic abuse.”
Figures show the Pathfinder pilot is working, with family court cases being resolved 11 weeks quicker and the backlog of cases reducing by 50 per cent across both Dorset and North Wales.
Speaking about the pilot, Lord Ponsonby, the Minister for Family Justice, said: “For too long families have been pitted against each other in the court room, or abusers have hijacked proceedings to continue campaigns of cruelty. Children and vulnerable people bear the brunt of this, and it must stop.
Pathfinder has been welcomed as a less adversarial approach, and early evidence shows it’s working. This is another important step to achieving our promise of halving violence against women and girls.”
WYPP is a strong collaboration with well-established IDVA services across West Yorkshire supporting survivors of domestic abuse. The service shall be accessible to all adults, children and young people going through Family Court proceedings in the West Yorkshire area where there are concerns, evidence and/or accusations of domestic abuse. We will cover the West Yorkshire area, this means providing accessible support to people who reside within Bradford, Calderdale, Kirklees, Leeds or Wakefield.
Leeds Women’s Aid is recruiting a Family Court Pathfinder Independent Domestic Violence Advocate (IDVA) as part of the WYPP, learn more at: https://leedswomensaid.co.uk/family-court-idva/
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