What's Happening in Our Family Court System and What Should Be Done?
(excerpt from the 2007 Truth Commission, emphasis mine, my commentary is interspersed.)
I. Court appointees, state actors and other professionals are frequently biased, particularly gender-biased, misogynistic, incompetent, and inadequately trained in domestic violence and child abuse. Many exhibit a shocking lack of knowledge about incest and child sexual abuse, and how domestic violence affects parenting, and may lie with impunity. They appear to have scant understanding of, or interest in, the negative effects of substance abuse as it pertains to parenting. There is a lack of training and availability of qualified, ethical professionals, particularly attorneys to represent non-abusive protective parents.. This problem is mostly hidden from the general public.
We live in a misogynistic society, therefore, most of the players are subject to beliefs that are against women's best interest. Contrary to fatherhood propaganda, there is no assault on fatherhood. No pendulum has swung. The problem is hidden from the general public only because the thoughts are ingrained into us to the point of invisibility to the average mind.
Public Education: The situation of family courts endangering children and punishing women must be exposed in the media. State and national policymakers in all 3 branches of government and other allies must be advised of the problem of family courts placing children in the unsupervised custody of abusive parents, and be told that this is happening with alarming frequency.
The media is part of the problem. They ARE aware of what goes on but they continue to report it the way they see fit. Men dominate the media outlets. The government is part of the problem because they feign ignorance, pass the buck, and more importantly, they are responsible for giving money to organizations that promote misogyny.
Research: More and better research on family court cases with allegations of DV and child abuse is needed to determine how many children are sent to live with abusers and how often custody scandal cases occur. Research should be done about how jury trials might work in custody cases to determine if this method of family court adjudication improves children’s safety. Any changes to the law must be examined to rule out unintended consequences of the abusers using the law to assist their cause.
Plenty of research is available. In fact there is so much million-dollar research going on, funded by the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), that little action is taking place. And with the action that is taking place, there is little-to-no accountability. The actions are not evidence-based. Social-engineering is taking place.
Training: Effective, quality, in depth training on recognizing domestic violence, effects of domestic violence on children, gender bias, child sexual abuse, child physical abuse, substance abuse, and the negative effects of abuse and violence on parenting and healthy child development must be developed and provided to all court professionals. A standard national training curriculum must be developed by a consortium of nationally recognized experts in domestic violence, child physical and sexual abuse, substance abuse, parenting, and child development. The approved curriculum must be taught by qualified experts who must pass rigorous examinations in the subject matter. . This training must be based on publications such as the 2006 Navigating Custody and Visitation Evaluations in Cases with Domestic Violence: A Judge’s Guide and 1996 American Psychological Association Presidential Task Force must be required for and provided to all court personnel and associated professionals, including judges.
This is major...as there are competing organizations and large groups like the AFCC that disseminate and promote harmful practices which endanger women and children. They claim domestic violence is equal between men and women. They advocate for mediation and psychotherapies that are counterindicated in family abuse. We need one system.
