How Maypole began

Maypole has been founded by two women who, independent of one another, searched on line for support and found no dedicated group for women through the divorce process.

As they began to hear the stories of others, it became evident that women repeatedly felt their concerns were ignored, and the family courts tended to focus on contact rather than children's full range of needs. 

It also became apparent that a large amount of research on domestic abuse and coercive control was not being put in to practice in family law.

Although women repeatedly affirmed their desire to promote contact with their child's father, their efforts to do so, parent effectively, and maintain emotional and financial well being - in what were often very difficult circumstances - contrasted sharply with the popular image of selfish and obstructive mothers portrayed in the media.

But it could not be denied that blocking contact was a common story - what seemed to be missing was the question: Why? A journey to understand the barriers to contact lead to our report, 'Valuing Motherhood', in 2010, detailing the issues women face at separation and divorce.

We also heard from many women who had lost contact with their children during or after the separation process. Without exception, these women used vocabulary which indicated they had experienced domestic abuse. They often felt the family courts had failed to protect them and their children, and sometimes contributed to the loss of contact.

Government and numerous Oftsed reports have since confirmed widespread poor practice in identifying and managing cases involving domestic abuse. The risk to women and children of loss of contact remains significant but unrecognised in the courts, and there is currently no provision for repairing relationships damaged by the courts' failure to protect.

Maypole Women was registered as a charity in 2010, and our web site provides evidenced based information for women, and professionals who work with them through the separation process. Children's well being is linked to that of their mother, and therefore suppporting women will be of direct benefit to children.