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  • Myths That Place Children at Risk During Custody Cases

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    Reviews six popular but erroneous myths that when accepted by courts may result in children being placed in the custody of an abusive parent. Some of these myths include the belief that parental alienation syndrome is a common, well documented phenomenon, that abuse allegations raised in custody cases are likely to be false, and that fit mothers don't lose custody, and that custody transfers to abusive parents are rare.

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    Reviews six popular but erroneous myths that when accepted by courts may result in children being placed in the custody of an abusive parent. Some of these myths include the belief that parental alienation syndrome is a common, well documented phenomenon, that abuse allegations raised in custody cases are likely to be false, and that fit mothers don't lose custody, and that custody transfers to abusive parents are rare.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF or read online from Scribd
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    27 views9 pages

    Myths That Place Children at Risk During Custody Cases

    Uploaded by

    Cheyenne66
    Reviews six popular but erroneous myths that when accepted by courts may result in children being placed in the custody of an abusive parent. Some of these myths include the belief that parental alienation syndrome is a common, well documented phenomenon, that abuse allegations raised in custody cases are likely to be false, and that fit mothers don't lose custody, and that custody transfers to abusive parents are rare.

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    _ SEXUAL ASSAULT REPORT LAW + PREVENTION PROTECTION » ENFORCEMENT : TREATMENT : HEALTH Volume 9 Number 3 Recent Research Suggests That SANE Programs Work by Erica Weissman, JD, PsyD Inthe 1970s, the health care and | criminal stice systems experi presse to espn more sensitively ndasertvely tothe special nesdsot | tape victims Along withthe grow rape crisis centers, vitim services agencies, and efforts to encourage reporting an prscetion of ape plaints hospital emergency rooms began to collect forensic evidence tram ripe vcimsina srarzed manner (ie rape Kt), Some aso began provide specialized supportive nd reel services. and evenllowed vc- tim advocates to say wih vis due ing thir medica examinations In his climate, te first programs emerged for training nurses to act as First responds nro motional p= onto wells mda care 1 rap ‘cts. Known as SANEs (Sexual “Ass Nurse Examine) bese pic titones and ther programs sek to rove higher eve of suppor forthe Feeent rpe vie while aleviting Some ofthe sirictural problems tit merge whom dstraght victims mest svat im overberdened emergency rooms for medical exams, cunssing, an the completion of the ape it, wile physicians atend to those with more serious physical injures. Ci rely, accorting 1 Rebecca Carp bel, Debra Patterson, and Lauren F See SANE, page 7 ISSN 1096-0155, January/February 2006 Pages 33-48 Myths That Place Children at Risk During Custody Disputes by Stephanie J, Dallam, RN, MS, FNP, and Joyanna L. Silberg, PhD ‘The Leadership Council on Child Abuse & Interpersonal Violence isa nonprofit sei- eniific organization concerned about the welfare of children. We have become in creasingly concerned about the legal sys- tems treater of vetins of family violence during divorce proceedings and child cus- toy disputes. In preparing this paper. we ‘have reviewed documentation from a nut ber of cases in which children were placed inthe sole custody ofa parent thatthe chil: dren allege abused them. These children were often prohibited from any contact or provided only finited contact withthe par ent seeking to protect the child, despite the fact that this parent had never been founel to have harmed the child, tn many cases the child's allegations are quite credible. We ave also reviewed she emerging body of research showing that children who allege abuse are at great rish of not being protect ced when there isa eusty dlspute benween the parents. Many ofthese children are vic finssof incest. There appears be a need for scien information io ewcate projesion- als about the risks children face during divorce an custody actions. The chil’ sneed for protection—which is supposed to be evant —is Lost in the fray Some groups have opposed exposure of {his problem claiming that she information ispolically mosivated or constutes“father- bashing.” Our analysis indicates thar the problem of abusers or batterers obtaining ‘ustoxy is widespread and well document: ‘ea by research, Presenting this information is nor an attempt to “hash” any particular ‘aroup, only to educate those who seek to Tearn more about thi problem. To this end, the Leadership Council has developed the following informatio help elariissues that affect child yin comested custody dispuies. We urge readers to se this information to work on wayst0 help society work toward beter pro- tection of those who have the misfortane of being hooh abused and in the middle of a custody dispute Introduction Approximately one in two macriages in the United States end in divorce, affecting over a million children each year. About 10% ofthese divorces involve eustedy iti gation. At the same time, domestic violence tnd child abuse are widespread problems in American families. Not surprisingly, fami- ‘Soe MYTHS, wes page Recent Sexual Assault Criminal Cases in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. .. 35, Third Circuit Finds That Rape Victim Arested for Burgary for Breaking Into House to Retrieve Her Clothes Could Not Bring Action Against Arresting Officers... .36 Findings About Female Sexual Abuse Perpetrators ........... ot Kansas Judge Removed From Office for Viewing Pomography on County-Owned Computer in His Courthouse Chambers ...... . ‘Too's for Training About Sexual Assault New Study on Childhood Sexual Abuse and Adult| sense Functioning . ele New York Appellate Court Considers False Alagations of Child Sexual Abuse in Custody Proceedings and Cautions Against Refance on Expert Opinions... 41 (©2006 Che Research neue. Potocoyng or aner eprducon vu ten prisons exsayprehbied and a viakon of Sopris Page 34 MYTHS, from page 33 lies witha history of violence often end in Pay. Managing Er: Re Sank Davis ag él Dictors Dees Lauer Publier: eis A Res ocean mene oe Seloht anys am Cop ect Rae Boe a Bement eee See Sexual Assault Report tic parenis are locked in legal disputes itis reasonable to be concerned about their ‘motives when abuse allegations ar raised. However, research has consistently shown, that sexual abuse allegations are not common during custody litigation and when thor- ‘oughly investigated are no more likely 0 be false than allegations rise tether points in time, ‘This mater was investigated by the Den: ver-based research unit ofthe Association of Family and Conciliation Courss which per- formed! 2 two-year study that explored the incidence and validity of sexual abuse alle~ gations in custody cases. Contrary to the popular myth that sexual allegations in cus- {ody cases ae relatively common, the study found that, in the 12 states participating in the stuly, only 6% of custody cases involved allegations of sexual abuse. The belief that these allegations are typically false was also challenged by the study findings. Half of the allegations were believed by the inves- tigators to be true, and in another 174 of the allegations, determination of the valid- ity could not be made with any degree of ‘certainty. The remaining third of the cases ‘were not believed to involve abuse. How- ever, in most ofthe eases where abuse was faot substantiated, the allegations were believed to have been made in good ith and based on genuine suspicions. ‘Similar results have been found by other researchers. An Australian study (Brownet al, 1997) found the overall rate of false alle- Sexual Assault Report ——_— Eeditorol Board Ted rah ee ie, ‘NiCr hse upon ewan emer ps as a oe ‘Gd tnd a aon. ‘ee Rete Ph angele Como. CA Bem enn ae January/February 2006 gations during divorce to be about 9%, sim- ilar to the rate of false allegations at any ‘ther time. Schuman (2000) reviewed re= search that found a range of 1-5% for rates ‘of deliberately false allegations, and 14-21% ‘for mistaken allegations. ‘When false allegations are raise, itis not always mothers accusing fathers. Nicholas Bala and John Schuman, two Queen's Uni- law professors, reviewed Canadian "writen decisions where allegations ‘of ther physical or sexual abuse were raised inthe context of parental separation. They examined 196 family law cases that were ‘adjudicated between 1990 and 1998. The results revealed thatthe judges felt that only shir of unproven cases of cil abuse Stem- ming from custody battles involved someone ‘deliberately lying in cour. In these eases, the judges foun that fathers were meme like- ly to fabricate the accusations than mothers. Ff female-initiated allegations, just 1.3% ‘were deemed intentionally false by civil courts, compared with 21% when the man suised allegations Tn conclson, the availabe evidence efites the notion thar sexual abuse allegationsin the context of custody and visitation eases are spicemic, and counters the notion that these ‘cases are commonly reported by a mother ‘whois vindictive or seriously impaired. For More Information See: Bala, N. & Schuman, J. (2000), “Alle~ gations of Sexual Abuse When Parents Have See MYTHS, page 82 he Nov oan fite Pale Gee ‘ere nel Te Tee ta nog a Ve in am leh Som oc Nae Fg tome oon nS Ds i Po a te te Uriecch Stine age no ‘si wn rt poe Op einen asc (©2006 CiieResoach us, Photocopying or oer erleson wth writen pomisionf expres protean a oat cont Page 42 MYTHS, from page 34 ‘Separated,” 17 Canadian Family Law Quar- terly 191-241, Brown, T, Frederico, M., Hewitt, L. & ‘Shechan, R. (1997), “Problems and Solu- tions in the Management of Child Abuse Allegations in Custody an Access Disputes inthe Family Court,” 36(4) Family and Con- ciliation Courts Review 431-443, ‘Schuman. T. (2000), “Allegations of Sex- tual Abase,"in P. Stahl (e), Complex Issues in Child Custody Evaluations, 43-68, Sage, Thoennes, N, & Tjaden, P.G. (1990), “The Extent, Nature, and Validity of Sexu- al Abuse Allegations in Custody and Visi- tation Disputes,” 14(2) Child Sexual Abuse & Neglect 151-63. MYTH 2—A History of Battering Has Nothing to Do With Child Abuse Parents who have been abused by a spouse often fear forthe safety oftheir chil- dren, especially afer separation when they ‘re not present to mediate for the child, ‘Some have suggested that tis fea is ba less, claiming there is no significant corre- lation between wife battering and various forms of child abuse, Abundant research, however, fils o suppor this position. Asa report by the American Peychological Asso-

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