J v B (Ultra-Orthodox Judaism: Transgender)
Sara Mann acted for a transgender parent who was seeking contact to her five children after leaving her family and their Charedi Jewish community to live as a woman.
Jane Walker acted for the children.
At the family court in Manchester, Mr Justice Peter Jackson ruled that contact may result in the ultra-orthodox Jewish community ostracising the family. He commented:
“Weighing up the profound consequences for the children’s welfare of ordering or not ordering direct contact with their father, I have reached the unwelcome conclusion that the likelihood of the children and their mother being marginalised or excluded by the ultra-Orthodox community is so real, and the consequences so great, that this one factor, despite its many disadvantages, must prevail over the many advantages of contact.”
The judgment is available here.
The case has been reported nationally in The Independent, The Guardian, The Times and on ITV.
