Memoirs of a McKenzie Friend - Blowing the lid off the Family Court.

Anjali Mya Chadha
Memoirs of a McKenzie Friend - Blowing the lid off the Family Court.

Memoirs of a McKenzie Friend -Blowing the lid off the Family Court. A podcast series exposing the brutal treatment of litigants in persons at the hands of the family court and its associated organisations. Every single person is silenced by an archaic law that ensures this outdated institution does not modernise, their failings remain hidden, improvements are an impossibility, and attitudes remain in the dark ages.

  1. Memoirs of a McKenzie Friend - Trailer

    EPISODE 1 TRAILER

    Memoirs of a McKenzie Friend - Trailer

    "We all have those few key moments, those few key incidents that will not only stay with us stay with us forever but will change our outlook on somehting particular for the rest of our lives. For me, it was the day I saw a magistrate in the family court burst out laughing when a hate-fulled defence barrister suggested that a woman I was supporting as a McKenzie Friend wasn't attractive enough for her abuser husband to want to rape her." Memoirs of a McKenzie friend is a podcast series that follows the journey of Celina, a support worker and McKenzie friend, as she exposes the realities of our family courts and their associated organisations. Through her journey of helping other people navigate the British legal system, Celina exposes the brutal treatment faced by litigants in person, victim-survivors of abuse and those economically disadvantaged by separation. Welcome to the Family Courts - A secret and unaccountable sector that silences its victims from speaking out. A sector whose archaic laws ensure that the courts do not grow with the times. Their failures remain hidden, improvements are an impossibility, and the attitudes of most involved remain in the dark ages. You will never look at our legal system and family court in the same way again.

    1 min
  2. Introduction - But Surely?

    10/19/2022

    Introduction - But Surely?

    Why I wrote 'Memoirs of a McKenzie Friend' - A note from Anjali "We all have those few key moments, those few key incidents that will not only stay with us stay with us forever but will change our outlook on somehting particular for the rest of our lives. For me, it was the day I saw a magistrate in the family court burst out laughing when a hate-fulled defence barrister suggested that a woman I was supporting as a McKenzie Friend wasn't attractive enough for her abuser husband to want to rape her." Memoirs of a McKenzie friend is a podcast series that follows the journey of Celina, a support worker and McKenzie friend, as she exposes the realities of our family courts and their associated organisations. Through her journey of helping other people navigate the British legal system, Celina exposes the brutal treatment faced by litigants in person, victim-survivors of abuse and those economically disadvantaged by separation. Welcome to the Family Courts - A secret and unaccountable sector that silences its victims from speaking out. A sector whose archaic laws ensure that the courts do not grow with the times. Their failures remain hidden, improvements are an impossibility, and the attitudes of most involved remain in the dark ages. You will never look at our legal system and family court in the same way again.

    19 min
  3. Season 1 Episode 1 - Staying in the Perfect Victim Lane

    10/19/2022

    Season 1 Episode 1 - Staying in the Perfect Victim Lane

    Who am I? I am white, I am black, I am brown, and I am much, much more. I'm a Christian; I'm a Hindu. I'm a Buddhist. I'm a Sikh. I'm a Muslim. I'm a Catholic and human to the core. I am every person who did what they were supposed to - leave and tell. I am every person who was re-abused by the system. I am every person who was disbelieved by the police before I even began to speak my truth. I am every person who faced an unaccountable family court, only to be silenced by their orders. I am 'anonymous us.' And here are our stories. ----------------------------------------- Let's begin with - What makes a perfect victim?  I certainly didn't. But then neither did she, nor her, or him, or them.   Dancing with the perfect victim trope - One of the first things that affect justice.

    21 min
  4. Season 1 Episode 2 - A Tap, A Slap, A Smack!

    10/19/2022

    Season 1 Episode 2 - A Tap, A Slap, A Smack!

    What is abuse? We meet Adowa, our 1st case study. She quickly found out that it didn't matter what her husband did to her; hit, strike, scream, shout, terrorise... as far as any family court judge would be concerned, as long as it wasn't a 'good beating', it was not proper domestic abuse. It was only a little smack. These little things happen in marriages.

    21 min

  5. 10/19/2022

    Season 1 Episode 3 - It's Private

    Let's meet Holly, who was lucky enough to meet the perfect boy, be in the perfect relationship, heading for the perfect future - if only she could see what was good for her.

    22 min
  6. Season 1 Episode 4 - Red Flags (But he didn't hit you.)

    10/19/2022

    Season 1 Episode 4 - Red Flags (But he didn't hit you.)

    What makes a victim? In episode one, we looked at the perfect victim trope. In this episode, we look at what makes a 'victim.'  What acts are perpetrated count as abuse?

    26 min
  7. Season 1 Episode 5 - For Love Nor Money

    10/19/2022

    Season 1 Episode 5 - For Love Nor Money

    If there are no beating and bruising, is there abuse? If there were no beating and bruises, could you even call to abuse?

    19 min
  8. Season 1 Episode 6 - Unreasonable, Reasonable

    10/19/2022

    Season 1 Episode 6 - Unreasonable, Reasonable

    You're stupid. You're thick. You know what you can be like If only you didn't wind me up.  But I still want to be with you.  Are you lucky because I still want to love you despite all your faults?  In a continuation of Holly's story, we unpick the behaviour of Ben.

    17 min
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Memoirs of a McKenzie Friend -Blowing the lid off the Family Court. A podcast series exposing the brutal treatment of litigants in persons at the hands of the family court and its associated organisations. Every single person is silenced by an archaic law that ensures this outdated institution does not modernise, their failings remain hidden, improvements are an impossibility, and attitudes remain in the dark ages.

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