Family courts ignoring needs of DV victims
Fathers’ rights groups accused the report’s authors of “scaremongering” and said false accusations of abuse were often used in closed family court proceedings to prevent fathers having contact with their children. “If the abuse has been proven in a criminal court then it is a serious matter and is taken into consideration, but we see false allegations in a bid to deny contact again and again,” said Nadine O’Connor, campaign director of Fathers4Justice.
Nick Clegg stated that the “proposals [will set] out that, where it is safe and in the child’s best interest, the law is clear that both parents share responsibility in their upbringing”, but O’Connor argued the wording left fathers powerless and failed to satisfy either camp.
“It will not change anything for fathers and it is likely to make things worse. There is too much room for manoeuvre,” she said. “More than 3.8 million children are growing up without their fathers in this country not because they are at risk from their fathers, but because they are denied contact, more than 50% of contact orders are broken and 93% of residencies are awarded to mothers. Are we really saying that 93% of fathers are unfit to share in the parenting of their children?”
http://www.guardian.co.uk/law/2012/nov/05/family-courts-domestic-violence-victims?fb=native
