Dr Adrienne Barnett

Profile

Dr Adrienne Barnett, a Senior Lecturer in Law, practised as a family law barrister for over 25 years. From 1997 she combined professional practice with academic research until moving into full time academia in January 2014 at Brunel University London. Her specialist area of research is domestic abuse and the family courts and, more recently, parental alienation. She has published widely over the past 21 years, has presented papers at numerous academic and professional conferences in the UK and abroad, and has conducted judicial and professional training on child arrangements and domestic abuse. Dr Barnett is a member of the Advisory Group of Rights of Women, the Expert Advisory Group to Women’s Aid’s ‘Child First’ campaign, and the Cafcass Research Advisory Committee.

Research

Publications

• Barnett, A. (2014) 'Contact at all costs? Domestic violence and children's welfare', Child and Family Law Quarterly, 26(4), 439 – 462
• Barnett, A. (2015) ‘Like Gold Dust These Days’ – Domestic Violence Fact-Finding Hearings in Child Contact Cases’, Feminist Legal Studies, 23(1), 47-78 
• Barnett, A. (2016) ‘Family Law Without Lawyers – A Systems Theory Perspective’, Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law, 39(2), 223-245 
• Barnett, A. (2017) ‘ “Greater than the mere sum of its parts”: coercive control and the question of proof’, Child and Family Law Quarterly, 379-400
• Hunter, R., Barnett, A. and Kaganas, F. (2018) ‘Introduction: Contact and Domestic Abuse’, Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law, 401-425 
• Barnett, A. (2020) ‘A genealogy of hostility: parental alienation in England and Wales’, Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law, 42(1), 18-29 
• Barnett, A. (2020) Domestic abuse and private law children cases (London: Ministry of Justice) 
• Barnett, A. (2021) Family Courts Uncovered: A Survey of Family Court Users and Professionals Interim Report (London: Candour TV) 
• Barnett, A., Riley, A. and ‘Katherine’ (2021) ‘Experiences of parental alienation interventions’ in J. Mercer and M. Drew (eds) Challenging Parental Alienation: A Guide for Child Protection Workers, Lawyers, Family Court Staff and Mental Health Professionals (Oxford: Routledge) 
  
  

Expertise