FD25P00286 - [2025] EWHC 2175 (Fam)

The mother relies on four strands. I consider the cumulative effect of the allegations. I have to consider whether, taking those allegations at their highest, Q would be at grave risk of being exposed to physical or psychological harm or otherwise placed in an intolerable situation. I have to consider in concrete terms the situation that Q would face on return.

The four strands are as follows

The parties had a difficult relationship. But the evidence before me appears to demonstrate a clear pattern of abusive and insulting behaviour on the part of the father. This appears to have continued throughout their relationship, save for a period of harmony before Q was born. The first angry text messages were sent by the father on being told of the pregnancy. Further insulting messages were sent in December 2024, February 2025 and March 2025. The father has accepted that he has sent messages and that they had arguments but says through counsel that this was simply part of a turbulent relationship.

The mother has pointed to repeated and frequent attempts to belittle and demean her. She says the father would frequently call her a “whore” or “stupid” or a prostitute and took advantage of her limited English. There was an argument in which she sustained bruising.

Of particular note is that fact that she says he locked her, and Q, in the property on one occasion so she could not leave. And, she says, she prevented him from sleeping in the same room as their baby for 20 nights. He also, she says, gave her insufficient funds.

I cannot confidently discount these allegations. I must take the allegations at their highest. The test is high: the risk must grave. But there is evidence here of a pattern of coercive and controlling behaviour meted out to the mother to which Q would, if this were correct, be exposed. As is clear from the authorities, that pattern of behaviour: routinely humiliating and belittling the mother; preventing her from spending time with her daughter; locking her in a home and deciding who she can spend time with, pushing the mother so that she sustains bruising, falls within the definition of domestic abuse. O, if exposed to that pattern of behaviour, in my view, would be atgrave risk of psychological harm.

I therefore have to consider protective measures. I deal with those below but address the other three strands of the mother’s arguments. I do that briefly, having determined that the Art 13 (b) threshold is met.

These risks have now dissipated. The father will give an undertaking to withdraw the criminal proceedings and not institute any proceedings. He has also confirmed that he is not seeking to remove Q from her mother’s care. He seeks a shared care, rather than sole residence order. In those circumstances I can confidently discount these risks.

The mother is completely financially dependent upon the father. She cites this as another example of his controlling behaviour. In one of her text messages she says that her allowance was “unsustainable”. Financial control is recognised as a marker of controlling behaviour and in my view this matter of financial dependency needs to be considered in the context of coercive control, and in the context of protective measures.

The other two sub-strands are the confidence that the mother can have in the father complying with court orders and the psychological impact that may have on the mother. The mother points to a lack of transparency in the father’s initial application as it failed to mention a number of emails. I note that the father has fully complied with this court’s directions and has volunteered to be subject to undertakings in Portugal.

I address the mother’s psychological health below.

I have limited evidence of the impact of the father’s behaviour on the mother’s mental health as her report specifically states that it is not a formal psychological assessment.

The mother has said that she feels isolated and at a disadvantage. But she is Portuguese speaking and the father, too, is not Portuguese. He is English and she has a linguistic advantage over him.

I note that the mother has made her own application to the Portuguese court.