http://divorcedfromjustice.com/home.html, California Protective Parents Association: http://trophychild.blogspot.com/, The best interest of Children is what it is all about. There is no Family Court bias in favor of mothers for the majority of fathers who divorce. That means that the judge should try to approximate the same setup for the children that existed before the divorce. Fathers’ rights groups love him. Nor am I surprised when I read that a family court judge has awarded custody of a 3-year-old girl to the father who has violently beaten her mother. Hera McLeod pleaded with the family court judge to keep her 15-month-old son, Prince, away from her abusive ex-boyfriend. THE BIAS A bias, against mothers who claim abuse, exists in Family Courts in several particular countries around the world; countries where parental alienation has become a ‘thing’. What I learned was that thousands of women are losing custody of their children to men with histories of violence and sexual abuse. "We have created a system that purports to be a gatekeeper–keeping victims from victimizers–but the system is really the welcome mat for victimizers to have access to the victims," says Richard Ducote, a nationally recognized child advocate and attorney. It’s time we wiped away the myth that our corrupt system is ignorant and or innocent of knowing the truth of what harmful and or fatal outcome Dr. Richard Gardner’s PAS junk science risk for abused children. From our experience working with families, we have realized family court can be biased towards mothers and against fathers in custody disputes. These courts often claim to operate in a manner consistent with the "best interests of the child." http://www.smalljustice.com/. Some judges tend to favour women during divorce and child custody disputes. Whether or not a state law mandates equal rights to both parents, family courts appear instead to rely on a concept called "the best interest of the child." If mom was with the kids 70 percent of the time before the divorce, she would be with them 70 percent of the time after the divorce. http://www.protectiveparents.com/, Family Law Courts.com: And so began my journey into the dark world of family courts. In researching my documentary, I have met many honest, caring and courageous mothers who, for speaking the truth, have been publicly called crazy, hysterical and delusional, and labeled with all kinds of pseudo-disorders for being strong and for fighting for the safety of their children. Garland Waller is an assistant professor in the Television Department at Boston University’s College of Communication. Men in the military who where deployed overseas would lose custody of there children when a wife or soon to be ex-wife would have a custody hearing while dad was away at war or overseas. It’s worth noting, however, that any potential bias toward the mother is in many cases perfectly justified. She escaped to a women’s shelter. Both the family report, as well as a court experts report, left the court in little doubt about the appropriateness of the father's stance. It’s nothing more than the obvious. The police said there were some inconsistancies in their stories so they released the father who they had put in custody for the alleged abuses. (https://womensenews.org/2001/09/biased-family-court-system-hurts-mothers/). Women's legal groups and family violence advocacy groups have rejected Senator Hanson's characterisation of the Family Court as discriminating against fathers and rewarding mothers for lying about sexual and physical abuse. Divorce & Gender Bias: Fighting Presumptions Against Fathers And Mothers Myths and stereotypes about men and women are engrained in our society. The mother, along with many other witnesses, told the court … The shelter was very disfunctional and of little help. Divorce & Gender Bias: Fighting Presumptions Against Fathers And Mothers Myths and stereotypes about men and women are engrained in our society. Get rid of the "best interests of the child" as the standard for custody and replace it with a new concept called the "approximation standard." One primary reason for what many consider a disastrous outcome, Ducote and other experts say, is the popularity of the theories of Dr. Richard Gardner, whose ideas are apparently more persuasive to judges than the testimony of battered women and victimized children. The damage to these boys is immeasurable. More on that later. Some judges tend to favour women during divorce and child custody disputes. (WOMENSENEWS)–Studies show that in approximately 70 percent of challenged cases, battering parents have been able to convince authorities during custody battles that their victim is unfit or undeserving of sole custody, according to a recent report published by … Just 3 per cent of fathers who go before the Family Court are refused access to their children, casting doubt on One Nation senator Pauline Hanson's claims that mothers are using the court … Instead, he believes that family court is actually biased against fathers, pointing out the fact that more mothers in the United States are custodial parents than fathers. Not based on the statistics above, anyway! "What would a good mother do," I asked Dr. Gardner two years ago when interviewing him for the documentary, "if her child told her of sexual abuse by his or her father. Most stunningly of all, in only one out of the 51 cases in which a mother reported child sexual abuse while the father cross-claimed alienation did the court credit the mother’s claim of … By definition (see following) a Lawyer has no regard for children. The existence of a bias toward mothers does not only exist in the United States’ family court system. - Covering Women's Issues, Changing Women's Lives, Healthy Births, Healthy Moms: Black Maternal Health in America, Backlash in Europe: Women’s Reproductive Rights Threatened, She Pays the Bias Price: From Girlhood to Final Years, Black Maternal Health: A Legacy and a Future, Women in Poverty – Tales from the Recessions Front Lines, Arab Women in Revolution: Reports from the Ground, Collateral Damage Syria: Women and Girls Fleeing Violence, http://www.familylawcourts.com/statenewyork.html, http://aja.ncsc.dni.us/domviol/booklet.html, Abuse During the Pandemic: What You Need to Know and Do, Shelter-in-Place: How it Impacts Sexual Violence, http://www.intermedia-inc.com/title.asp?sku=DE06&subcatID=12&previewFormat=WM, New York’s Paid Family Leave Policy Faces Uncertain Stardom. In traditional family units it is, whether you like it or not, often the mother who spends more time with the child and who does more of the parenting. But as gender roles have evolved in society, more and more mothers are working instead of staying home. In practice this often means that a judge, often a male judge, biased and imperious, defines that phrase. We must act now to begin reforming our family courts. Whether or not a state law mandates equal rights to both parents, family courts appear instead to rely on a concept called "the best interest of the child." Do not hesitate to contact the Court and complain about the mother. The study exposed the effects of pervasive stereotypes regarding mothers and fathers on real child custody cases. This is the name given for the practice of one parent saying disparaging things about the other parent in an attempt to alienate the child from the ex-spouse. She had taught herself the law so that she could work with her attorney husband, Charlie Hofheimer, in their Virginia law practice. In fact, a pilot study in the early 1990s by the California Protective Parent Association and Mothers of Lost Children found that 91 percent of fathers who were identified by their children as perpetrators of sexual abuse received full or partial unsupervised custody of the children and that in 54 percent of cases the non-abusing mother was placed on supervised visitation. When she went to file a police report for abuse to her and the kids is when the problems began. Women's eNews Parenting choices, such as whether to co-sleep with an infant or whether to leave an older child unattended at home, are routinely questioned and held against Black mothers in family court. Mothers and children get approached with unfounded suspicion, and children are … 8. The Family Law Act 1975 is the legislation the Family Law Courts must apply in working out parenting arrangements. We have to get our politicians to STOP allowing our innocent children to be treated like rapists and murderers. Sure, these cases are complicated, but it doesn’t take a legal genius to figure out that it’s not good for kids to watch daddy break mommy’s jaw. We use cookies to collect information from your browser to personalize content and perform site analytics. American Psychological Association Presidential Task Force On Violence, The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Gender Bias Task Force, Parental Alienation Syndrome: 30 Years On and Still Junk Science. These judges decide, time and time again, when a woman raises the allegation of sexual abuse in a custody dispute, that it is she who will lose her children forever. The speaker continued by explaining why men lose in family court. In other words, this corrupt system is using protective mothers who have been battered and her children who are being abused, and their money making business is nothing more than human trafficking or extortion. Representing only women in divorce and custody cases, Diane and Charlie began my education with one grisly case. When an individual is deployed overseas a custody hearing will not take place until that individual returns home from duty.My point is men have tryed to change the custody laws for over 40 years and could not change them, one military mom lost custody and the laws where changed. This will be a particular norm among older members of the judiciary, of course. MEDIATORS: Many California family courts assign Family Court Services mediators, employed as part of the court system, to help people in custody disputes talk through and solve problems (Family Code 3160 et seq). Richard, Are Fathers seeing children as Tropies to hurt the mothers? According to the WC, family courts are dens of iniquity, not because they ignore the cries of “protective” mothers and give custody to abusive dads, but because family courts everywhere (not just in the U.S.) are biased in fathers’ favor and against mothers. In traditional family units it is, whether you like it or not, often the mother who spends more time with the child and who does more of the parenting. In spite of years of abuse and having the estranged husband try and smother the 11 year old, causing her to leave, she needs help getting her boys back. I think family courts are a bit patriarchal. In both directions. See this article. I do not even lift an eyebrow when a 2-year-old boy, who comes home from unsupervised visitation with his dad, has a diaper filled with his own rectal blood and that same child is later turned over to his father on a full-time basis. They merely discount all such allegations as examples of parental alienation syndrome, or some variation of it under a different name such as SAID (Sexual Allegations in Divorce) Syndrome, Malicious Mother Syndrome or some other fabricated condition. In essentially every case in which courts place children with abusers, despite substantial evidence of sexual abuse or domestic violence and no evidence of fabrication on the protecting parent’s part, it is the parental alienation syndrome that is used by the judge, the evaluator or the child’s lawyer to ignore and discount the abuse evidence and to wrongfully construe all of the child’s symptoms as evidence of alienation. Years ago, mothers were expected to do one thing: be mothers. For example, 83% of mothers receive custody of their children in divorces. The fine article confines itself to revealing the frank bias of family court judges, but I’d like to add a bit of content: judicial bias against fathers is also judicial bias against mothers and children. To save that client by all means and expedients, and at all hazards and costs to other persons, and, among them, to himself, is his first and only duty; and in performing that duty he must not regard the alarm, the torments, the destruction which he may bring upon others (children).”. Our lawyers explain that just because women are considered culturally better at parenting than men does not give the court a legal right to award more child custody rights to the mother unless there are facts proving that the child’s best interests would be met if he or she remains to live with the mother. 7. Since that notion is wholly subjective, an undefinable rule with no standards or accountability, in practice it rests on the personal whim or bias of the family court. Yes the family court system is broken and needs reform. Most significantly, the allegation of child abuse in a custody battle must be considered a rebuttable presumption, that is, that the sworn testimony of a parent or child claiming abuse is presumed to be true unless and until the accused sufficiently challenges its veracity. Many of the grounds for removal are paternalistic and arbitrary, as well as racially biased, in nature. I used to think that the family court system was basically fair. He’s a professor at Columbia Medical School and has been publishing papers for two decades. She has produced more than 10 award-winning documentaries. All Judges used to be lawyers. From our experience working with families, we have realized family court can be biased towards mothers and against fathers in custody disputes. This so-called syndrome is based on anecdotal evidence. Studies by Joan Meier, Daniel Saunders and the American Psychological Association Presidential Task Force On Violence shows that gender bias in the courts often works against, not in favor of, mothers in custody cases. This case is being handled in a court system that has been admonished for poor and biased decisions in the past. There is no Family Court bias in favor of mothers because very few fathers seek custody during divorce. http://www.familylawcourts.com/statenewyork.html, Stop Family Violence: Are Custody Decisions Biased in Favor of Mothers? That’s on tape and I have a signed release. Another theory behind some of the gender bias we’re seeing in the court system relates to a mother’s expectations. ). First she denies that family court outcomes disproportionately treat fathers worse than mothers. Mick Clarke certainly thinks so. Built with the Largo WordPress Theme from the Institute for Nonprofit News. The lack of education and knowledge of DV abuser tactics among family court professionals - judges, lawyers, GALs, forensic evaluators - during divorce and family court proceedings often put moms and children at further risk of abuse and danger. And finally we’re informed that parental alienation syndrome is “junk science.” Don’t you say that about your father. The problem with family court. The Family Law Act 1975 is the legislation the Family Law Courts must apply in working out parenting arrangements. “The Family Law System Discriminates Against Fathers” These are the words of Mick Clarke, whose son was killed by his own mother. Contributing factors to the perception of bias Most mothers, most of the time, are primary carers of young children. The 11 year old has some brain damage and the 8 year old is autistic. Could it be societal bias they buy into instead of court bias? THE BIAS A bias, against mothers who claim abuse, exists in Family Courts in several particular countries around the world; countries where parental alienation has become a ‘thing’. Visit our Privacy Policy for more info. In most cases, divorcing parents go through the process outside of the courtroom, through mediation. Many fathers we have represented can personally attest to experiencing a negative outcome in a custody dispute because of gender bias in the court system. I thought it was a fluke, but I agreed to look at some of the legal documents. My colleague Hofheimer is convinced that the so-called syndrome is to psychology what voodoo is to surgery. What I find ironic is military fathers have been trying to change custody laws since the vietnam era. Open the courtrooms to the public and make judges accountable for their rulings. In non-contested custody cases, the mother and father generally agree to this on their own. This will be a particular norm among older members of the judiciary, of course. "Yes there is bias, prejudice and discrimination in family court towards men. I read a great deal about family law, and the opinions of those who … We must either not allow lawyers in family court or change the ethics they use. Next she claims (of course she does) that, when mothers allege domestic violence by fathers, the fathers are given custody. Read the piece for yourself. (In 2015, 80% of the custodial parents in the United States were mothers, according to the U.S. Census Bureau ). Years ago, mothers were expected to do one thing: be mothers. In the reverse case in which the dad was described as spending more time in caregiving prior to the divorce, again only 27% expected the courts to award equal time to both parents. As the Family Court was not prepared to remove the father from the children’s lives, under the 2006 Shared Parental Responsibility Amendments of the Family Law Act, Judge Riethmuller changed the children’s residence from their mother’s to their father’s. 894 FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY LAW REVIEW [Vol. But I still feel that the title is appropriate, as it reflects the ambiguous nature of the debate as to whether or not the family courts show bias towards mothers or fathers. Although often helpful, mediation can be a real problem in family violence cases, as indicated by the factors below. That was before my childhood friend, Diane Hofheimer, asked me to consider doing a documentary on the family courts. With after watching Garland Waller on this preview video at http://www.intermedia-inc.com/title.asp?sku=DE06&subcatID=12&previewFormat=WM where she says….. “I came to believe that if Judges, Lawyers, Guardians Ad Litem, Social workers, people who work in the family court system, knew the truth, the outcome for abused children would be very different.”. Instead, he believes that family court is actually biased against fathers, pointing out the fact that more mothers in the United States are custodial parents than fathers. It is an international problem that is preventing fathers from being the loving and engaged parents that they want to be. Research shows a high correlation between domestic violence and child sexual abuse. A subsequent 8 hour interrogation took place with my Daughter and her 16 month old baby and 8 and 11 year old. The argument that Men's Rights activists make doesn't hold water. On occasion, we also use cookies to collect information from our toddlers, but that’s a totally different thing. http://aja.ncsc.dni.us/domviol/booklet.html, "Small Justice: Little Justice in America’s Family Courts," award-winning documentary by Garland Waller: To put it in perspective they use the same ethics for children in family court as they use for rapists and murderers in criminal court. Why do you suppose fathers are so quick to give most of the custody to mothers? Many men, quite a lot of the time, appear to see looking after young children as boring, unrewarding, low status and they don’t want to do it. 25:891 today.11 In no greater sphere do these outdated gender roles persist than in our nation’s family court system.12 There, the state frequently not only denies the capability and desire of many men to participate actively and meaningfully in the care of their children,13 but also perpetuates the subjugation of women as mothers by deeming them They seem to rule based a lot on tradition, rather than reality. Mothers and children get approached with unfounded suspicion, and … Gardner’s brainchild is Parental Alienation Syndrome. Many fathers we have represented can personally attest to experiencing a negative outcome in a custody dispute because of gender bias in the court … ", His answer: "What would she say? Remember, family court is not a playground, it’s a battlefield and, in most cases, mothers do not waste any time before filing complaints against fathers. “Garland Waller Says: We need a real overhaul, but let’s start with some basics: * Open the courtrooms to the public and make judges accountable for their rulings.”. The older boy was physically assualting the Mother and the 8 year old was usually out of control. Firstly, the Family Law Courts aren’t pro or anti mum or dad. What can be done to help her. Additionally, men are awarded less support on average than mothers who are awarded support. It … Gardner’s books on the subject are self-published, something that should give judges and experts pause, even though he does look good on paper. That statement would have once shocked me, but no more. The payoffs with litigations that can go on for years as the protective mother fights for her right to protect her children from the batterer/abuser, there is a secure income for all involved in the family court system. I lived in a cycle of emotional abuse for nearly ten years. And when a mother is thrown into jail, denied the right to ever see her children again, because she brought up the issue of child abuse in a family court, I’m sickened, but not shocked. When society as a whole wipes away this myth, then true implementation of accountability of judges will take place. Diane Hofheimer and Charlie Hofheimer: But its showcase potential won’t be tested until the program gets going in 2018. We as a society should do everything in our power to encourage responsible parenting by … Yet some of them have been nearly broken by the family court system, and the damage to their children is immeasurable. http://www.stopfamilyviolence.org/, "Domestic Violence and the Courtroom: Understanding the Problem … Knowing the Victim," American Judges Association and American Judges Foundation: The TFLF opposed an equal parenting bill, HB 453, and rather than studying and presenting to the legislators the bias and problems with judges using the current Family Code to strip children down to minimum time with one of their parents, the TFLF instead spent time disparaging others who were trying to inform and educate the legislators. However, despite these problems most of you have failed because you didn't take the time to learn how the system works." After a 10 year career as a divorce coach/consultant and doing extensive research on the subject, I've come to the conclusion that the courts are not the reason mothers retain custody in the majority of divorces. National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, National District Attorneys Association (NDAA). If you do, I’ll beat you.". Take a father out of a child’s life and the child is damaged, all but invariably. Is there a family court bias against Fathers in Australia? Privacy Policy. The Mother is doing everything the court has ordered. If necessary, file a formal complaint against the mother for any and all failings. It’s worth noting, however, that any potential bias toward the mother is in many cases perfectly justified. In fact, perceived bias against men in family courts has, in large part, provided the so-called “Men’s Rights Movement” with momentum. These experts are certainly free to believe whatever they wish to, but much to the harm of thousands of children and their caring, protective parents, these ideas have been accepted by personnel in most of the family courts in the country: the judges, court-appointed lawyers charged with protecting the child’s interests, and custody evaluators such as psychologists and social workers. These injustices are commonplace today in the closed-door family court system. Judges with more expertise in family law tended to engage in more biased decision-making than those with less experience in family court, said University of … How do you know if you or someone you love is a victim of IPV and reproductive coercion? We hear a lot about how the courts are biased in favor of mothers when deciding child custody. Statistically, it appears that the family courts in the United States are biased against fathers. Bias against men in family courts could be gender discrimination. 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