Essay by Barry Goldstein How would a typical family court analyze a case in which they believe a safe mother who is the primary attachment figure has failed to promote the relationship with a father the mother believes is dangerous and abusive? In many ways, this is the typical custody case the courts would call “high conflict,” and experts familiar with current scientific research would call … [Read more...]
Task Force: Systems Need Better Understanding of Domestic Violence ‘Lethality Factors’
After reviewing what led up to the murder-suicide of a 3-year-old boy by his father last year, a Kent County task force on Tuesday released several recommendations for how systems can more effectively identify domestic violence and work to prevent killings. The Kent County Domestic Violence Community Coordinated Response Team stressed that the only person to blame for the death of 3-year-old … [Read more...]
Maryland Judges Must Be Trained on Child Custody and Abuse – Opinion
There’s this place around the corner from you, seemingly insignificant, but it hosts a house of horrors. It’s a place where the same therapists, medical providers and teachers who are legally required to report suspected child abuse are not allowed to save a child before more abuse occurs. Where truth is obsolete, and right and wrong don’t matter. It’s called family court. And I’ve been trapped … [Read more...]
‘Keira’s Law’ to Expand Judicial Education on Domestic Violence
(Ontario, CANADA) Two years after the death of her daughter, protective mother Jennifer Kagan-Viater discusses the preventable death of her daughter, 4-year-old Keira Kagan, and how this tragedy reflects on Ontario's family justice system. Keira's Law would make it mandatory for judges to be trained in domestic violence. "The rights of the abusive parent in this instance trumped Keira's … [Read more...]
Domestic Violence Survivors Urge More Judicial Training in New Hampshire
Advocates for domestic violence victims and people who feel they were not treated fairly by family court judges in New Hampshire called Friday on a newly created task force to provide more training for the judiciary. The Task Force on Domestic Violence Cases in the New Hampshire Judicial System heard stories about people in family court cases who felt victimized through rulings, rather than … [Read more...]