Demonstration outside Peterborough court highlights 'failing family court system'

People Against Parental Alienation have held a solemn demonstration as part of their ‘Lost Years Campaign’ to draw urgent attention to the long-lasting impact of parental alienation on children and families across the UK.

The demonstration will remain outside of the court for the next two weeks and features a display of toys, strollers as a symbol of time lost- such as birthdays, milestones, dinners, laughter, and ordinary life moments- that have slipped away while the justice system takes place behind closed doors.

At the centre of the protest, PAPA founder Simon Cobb, was seen holding a sign reading: “35% alienated children have not seen their parent in over 5 years…”

The Lost Years Campaign calls on policymakers, family courts, and the public to recognise that time without contact is not a temporary inconvenience, but lost childhood.

The campaign highlights how delays, non-enforcement of contact orders, and lack of transparency in family justice systems are turning temporary arrangements into permanent separations.

The campaign website states: “Our campaign is calling on the Government to reform the outdated family law system and take proactive steps to both speed up the family court process but to also create deterrents and punishments for broken court orders.

“When families are divided, time isn’t just lost — it’s taken.

​”Every year, thousands of children become trapped in the slow turning wheels of the family court system.

“What begins as a dispute too often becomes a sentence — years of separation from a parent, years of memories never made, years of love turned into longing.

“In that time, children grow taller, voices change, faces mature.

“Parents watch from a distance, counting birthdays instead of candles.

“By the time the court reaches its decision, the little hands that once reached out for comfort may no longer fit inside their own.

“The tears represent the deep grief of parents and children torn apart — the anguish of missed moments and the heartbreak of absence.”

PAPA founder Simon said: “Every year a child goes without seeing a loving parent is a year of their life we can never get back. These ‘lost years’ are emotional, psychological, and developmental theft, not collateral damage. Families are not statistics, and children deserve the right to know both parents.”

“We are here to remind the public and decision-makers that parental alienation is not a social trend, it is a crisis. When over one third of alienated children can’t see a parent for half a decade or more, we are looking at childhoods redefined by absence and loss.”

Supporters say that without action, these statistics will continue to grow, leaving more children disconnected from half of their family history.

The campaign calls for:

- The need for enforceable contact measures not just orders

- Timely review processes to prevent long-term absence

- Public reporting of family justice outcomes

- Support mechanisms for both children and parents affected by alienation

To find out more about the campaign, visit www.papaorg.co.uk.