Dr Jan Ewing
Assistant Professor of Law,
University of Cambridge
Dr Ewing is a College Assistant Professor in Law, Deputy Director of the Cambridge Family Law Centre, and a Fellow of Homerton College Cambridge. She was formerly a Teaching Fellow and Module Leader of Family Law at Queen Mary, University of London and a Research Fellow at the University of Exeter.
Her research interests are in children’s rights, particularly the exercise of those rights when parents settle out of court following separation. She is also interested in understanding what makes intimate relationships flourish over time. A former family law solicitor, Dr Ewing is the co-author of Mapping Paths to Family Justice: Resolving Family Disputes in Neo-Liberal Times, which was awarded the Hart-SLSA Book Prize in 2018. Her co-authored monograph, 'The right to be heard: children's voices, family disputes and child-inclusive mediation' was published in 2024.
Dr Ewing is an invited member of the Family Solutions Group set up by Sir Stephen Cobb in 2020 to consider what can be done to improve the experience of children and families before an application is made to the family court. She is also a Member of the Family Justice Council's 'Voice of the Child Working Group'. She has been a Research Fellow on a number of empirical research projects, including Mapping Paths to Family Justice, the evaluation of the DWP-funded 'Mediation in Mind' project and the HeaRT project which considered the mental health and well-being benefits to young people of being heard in child-inclusive mediation.
With a background that bridges law, psychology, and social policy, Dr Ewing is passionate about translating research into practical tools that empower both professionals and parents. Her work champions the voices of children and the importance of systemic change to create safer, healthier pathways for families.
Day 2 - Professor Anne Barlow & Dr Jan Ewing | Plenary
"It’s a Way of Looking at Things”: Embedding Children’s Meaningful Participation in Decision-Making When Parents Separate
Who it will interest
Family lawyers, mediators, judges, CAFCASS professionals, social workers, policymakers and academics
What this session is about
Children’s participation is now a central principle of family justice, yet what constitutes meaningful participation in practice remains contested. In this session, Professor Anne Barlow and Dr Jan Ewing will explore what UNCRC Article 12-compliant participation entails, the barriers to achieving it and the structural and cultural reforms necessary to embed participation meaningfully into decision-making (both in and out of court) when parents separate.
Drawing on socio-legal research and practice, they explore children’s experiences and outcomes when their voices are genuinely heard and considered seriously within decision-making. The session examines the risks of tokenistic engagement with children, providing evidence-based recommendations on embedding participation safely to ensure that children capable of expressing a view have their rights and perspectives given due weight in decisions made when parents separate.
Key themes
Meaningful participation versus procedural listening
Why ‘voice’ is not enough
Evidence from socio-legal research and professional practice
What delegates will gain
A greater understanding of the international and domestic requirements to facilitate children’s meaningful participation in decision-making
A clearer framework for understanding child participation
Greater confidence in developing child-inclusive practice
Research-led guidance to support professional judgment
How it connects to other sessions
This session sits at the centre of Day Two, acting as a conceptual anchor for the programme. It draws together Professor Ben Hine’s psychological analysis of child behaviour, Katy Harris’s applied child-inclusive mediation practice and Penny Ruth Willis’s adult-led NVR response, clarifying what safe child-inclusive practice looks like and how to embed it into practice.