Hi all. Looking for slander advice!

[des8]

You might (note might) have some recourse under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997
(https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1997/40/contents)
or Malicious Communication Act 1988.

With the former Act you have the right to civil action as well as criminal (see sec 3)

[Father_Dave]

Thanks. I see in section 3 it says "civil remedy". Given I dont have legal training I think I'd need to read and reread this part of law to try and understand how I would go about this.
How would I research previous cases where someone has been successful in taking somone to court for harassment damages?
Is there a database of "presidence cases" online? (Or have I confused American court case movies with real life)
I'd need to be able to show that her actions were contrived and malicious. Obviously common sense says that having a telephone hotline to the police every six months over bullshit "oh can I just say i forgot to mention" claims is disgusting behaviour. But is common sense a thing in law??
Would a judge have the understanding to read a four year timeline from a to b where someone just kept "trying everything".
My psyche was damaged enough going through family courts where I frequently felt like the judge was preferring to "hear" the applicant but uninterested in hearing my counter allegations.
I'm not sure I've any willpower or faith left in the system to bring this forward.
There was an incident during the previous matter where she suddenly claimed she had fled me because I was a rapist. I then produced the hundreds of Facebook messages between us that showed we had a respectful breakup, and that we'd continued an intimate relationship months and months after she'd moved out! With her often popping over for some lovin when our daughter was tucked up in bed! After producing these and exhibiting them in the bundle her barrister suggested to me that I'd faked the hundreds of messages. I mean what a low life.
The experience left me thinking that barristers don't actually serve the truth / the courts first, but are snakey pieces of immoral crap.
To bring a court action forward, with no funds, I'd need to feel less broken and destroyed by the past, and have some small faith that if I navigate the waters correctly that a judge will be able to see what's been happening to me.
The fact that she's got away with all this doesn't sit right with me at all though.

[EXC]

I'm wondering if Ps124 has any thoughts on this if she wouldn't mind taking a look.

[Scot22]

Only you really understand. As others have said, those who know you know the truth.
More knowledgeable people than me might advise. Would the Malicious Communications Act be useful.

[MIKE770]

When it comes to lawsuits, a defamation case can be very challenging. For example, unless you hire a legal team who works on a pro bono basis, this type of lawsuit can be costly. The reason for this is that to win, there is a lot of fact-finding involved, which often requires the assistance of an expert. UK libel claimants must prove ‘serious harm’ to reputation, says court

remember #8 above!

[ostell]

You are being very rude in hijacking so many threads. If you want answers start your own thread

[Ps124]

I’m really sorry that you’ve been going through all of this. I’m not sure if I am too late to share my two cents but here it goes.

As everyone has said, a defamation claim is, in all likelihood, going to be extremely expensive considering that it is tied into a divorce, custody and a familiar relationship. The more complicated it is, the more the hearings and the more expensive it will be. You would also only be able to use statements published within 1 year from the date of issuing a claim against your ex.

In my practical experience, I agree that the best bet would be to file a report with the police separately for (a) harassment (for the false allegations) and (b) malicious communications (for the Facebook posts). Harassment is quite difficult to prove in general and you need to be able to show clearly (and not just assume) that it was your ex who falsely accused you causing the police to arrest you several times. It will be treated as a domestic issue which generally means that the police will take it more seriously.

Please note that while a false rape allegation does not automatically amount to harassment (to preserve victims from being charged for harassment without malice) it sounds like she’s made a magnitude of calls to the police which doesn’t do her any favours. You can explain how it’s been affecting you, making you scared for your and your family’s well being and the fear that it’s not going to stop.

As far as Mal-Comms is concerned, bear in mind that it needs to “cause distress or anxiety to the recipient or to any other person to whom he intends that it or its contents or nature should be communicated.” So you will need to show that the Facebook posts were made to cause *you* distress and was intended to be seen by you - this means that the mere publishing does not amount to a mal-comms offence, should be some indication that it was meant to be seen by you.