Ann Bibby’s Fund: Legal Support for Domestic Abuse Survivors
Ann Bibby’s Legacy
Ann Bibby was a Hackney-based family law solicitor who worked tirelessly for nearly 30 years helping families and people experiencing domestic abuse.
A key reason that led Ann to become a legal aid lawyer was her desire to improve people's lives and her belief that everyone should have access to fair legal representation.
Her career as a legal aid lawyer was severely affected by the aggressive 2013 cuts to Legal Aid. This resulted in a significant loss of ordinary people’s access to vital legal assistance, especially for victims of domestic violence. Whole parts of Ann’s legal practice were gradually taken out of Legal Aid's scope and Legal Aid lawyers' fees were lowered. In spite of these cuts, Ann continued to support vulnerable people as best she could, even though she had to make dramatic sacrifices in her own income.
Ann died suddenly from a brain tumour on 14 September 2020. She is deeply missed by her family, friends, colleagues and those she provided legal support to over the years.
It was Ann's belief that the current means test for legal aid creates a barrier to justice for some of the most vulnerable people. In England and Wales, in the year ending in March 2022; an estimated 1.7 million women experienced domestic abuse. As a result of the cuts and restrictions to legal aid, a significant number of victims and survivors of domestic abuse have given up their right to justice.
So, after Ann’s death, her family, friends and colleagues wanted to honour her spirit and commitment to access to justice and raise money to help Hopscotch Women’s Centre in providing a legal advisor for their work supporting women who are disadvantaged and abused. This is a project that Ann would have supported and stood shoulder to shoulder with.
Ann Bibby
Why the Fund is a Lifeline
Hopscotch supports vulnerable and disadvantaged women from Black and Minoritised Ethnic communities, with multiple and complex needs. Most of our service users fleeing abuse are financially dependent on the perpetrator and in certain cases are also victims of economic abuse. They have to escape the abusive relationship and leave home without any money.
Hopscotch supports these women, who also need legal support, to file emergency injunctions and support with child custody, which in most cases are not funded by legal aid. This leaves the women feel helpless as on top of facing intersectional barriers, they feel penalised for leaving their abusive partner, who are often in a much stronger position to pay for and get legal support around child custody.
Post separation, women, as single parents, face disproportionate challenges to re-start their lives free from abuse and provide a safe environment for their children. This is exacerbated by the fact that certain legal aid cases are now means tested, and single mothers, who earn just above the threshold, are left unsupported by the legal aid system whilst unable to afford to pay for legal advice and representation privately, which is often too expensive. This is often re-triggering and affects the quality of life for both mothers and children. Hopscotch has been working tirelessly to address this gap, through our work.
Hopscotch is privileged to be able to uphold Ann's vision by providing a free, accessible and fair legal advice and representation service to women from all Black and Minoritised Ethnic backgrounds.