Tia, a member of Birth Companions’ Lived Experience Team, reflects on her role in shaping a new website to help Norfolk families understand the family court process.
When you’re going through the family courts, it can feel like everyone else in the room speaks a language you were never taught. There are forms you don’t understand, words nobody explains, and decisions being made about your family that you can’t always follow. I know how frightening and lonely that can be, because I’ve been there.
So when I was asked to share my experience to help develop the new Norfolk Family Court Information website, I wanted to be part of it. The site was created by the UEA Law Clinic and Norfolk Community Law Service. It gives free, clear guidance on things like child arrangements after separation, divorce, finances, protection from domestic abuse, and what happens when social services have concerns about a child.
My role was to look at the website the way a parent would, particularly a parent who is scared, exhausted or has never been near a court before. Small things make a big difference when you’re already overwhelmed: plain language, knowing what to expect next, and being told what you can do to prepare, not just what might happen to you.
What mattered most to me was that nobody using the site should feel judged or alone. Professionals often understand the system inside out, but they haven’t sat on the other side of it. Having that perspective in the room helped make sure the information feels supportive, not just correct.
I really believe this website is a game changer. It will help people understand the process, and it means families can go into court better informed and a bit less afraid. Understanding what’s happening gives you back some control at a time when it can feel like you have none.
For me, it’s also a reminder that lived experience isn’t only something to be listened to. It can shape real resources that people will use. This website was made with a lived experience mum, and I’m proud that parents in Norfolk will benefit from what I went through.
You can find the website at https://www.uea.ac.uk/groups-and-centres/family-courts
Tia contributed to this project independently, as a lived experience expert with Norfolk County Council. Birth Companions wasn’t involved in developing the website, but we’re proud to share the work our Lived Experience Team members do beyond our own projects. The project connects closely with our work on women’s experiences of children’s social care in pregnancy and early motherhood.