I have put much thought into this debate as many have who work within the family law circuit and those of us men and women who have been mistreated and incorrectly judged. From our experience working with families, we have realized family court can be biased towards mothers and against fathers in custody disputes. Being a father trying to use the system, it would be very easy for me to say that the system is heavily biased against fathers. That’s human beings. At the same time, other than finally meeting a solicitor that for once isn’t treating me as an abuser by default, nobody is even willing to listen to my side of the story. The suggestion was contained in an opinion piece by deputy opinion writer Sonia Sodha, which appeared in the paper on the 5th of March. The people that will decide a small child’s future will have forgotten the case by the time that child is an adult. that was a slightly long-winded way of saying that I thought I would have a Custody and Power . They were, on the face of it, reasonable – judges should apply a presumption of shared parental responsibility unless violence or abuse was an issue. If her husband applied for custody, she knew it was highly likely he would be granted unsupervised access. Statistically, it appears that the family courts in the United States are biased against fathers. We write urgently to ask you to object to the President of the family court, Sir Andrew McFarlane, and Jacky Tiotto, the CEO of CAFCASS (created to protect children), endorsing Families Need Fathers, a misogynist fathers’ organisation, by speaking at their national conference on Saturday 21 November. There is no excuse for an innocent man being deprived access to his children. But the obvious problem with suggesting that there is This is to be a higher priority than the “benefit to the child of having a meaningful relationship with both parents”. 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. As a result, women have to think carefully about bringing abuse allegations to court – even where they may be evidence – in case they get accused of making false claims and lose custody as a result.”, “…putting these decisions in the hands of an unaccountable and disproportionately male judiciary, untrained in domestic abuse, some of whom seem to have no problem slipping their social biases into the courtroom, is bound to cause problems. First she denies that family court outcomes disproportionately treat fathers worse than mothers. Sadly there is far too much information available to the general public and professionals about personality disorders. 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. Parental alienation has become a huge viscous circle but it most definitely exists. Additionally, men are awarded less support on average than mothers who are awarded support. But even with this substantial change to the legislation, the same stories persist. Grant Bowen is campaigning for Family Law reform. Mothers and children get approached with unfounded suspicion, and children are suffering the cruel consequences. Prominent doctors have confided in me their horror at what they see happening to their patients in the system – especially to the children. With over 40 years of family law advocacy, that started in law school, as well as comprehensive knowledge and experience in the area of shared equal parenting rights, Gene C. Colman vigorously fights against gender bias in divorce and separation proceedings. The “parental alienation syndrome” to which she refers may or may not exist as a phenomenon, but it is, sadly, true that some mothers turn their children unfairly against their fathers, just as often as is the converse.”. The Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) does not contain any bias in relation to gender when it comes to making parenting decisions. It’s nothing more than the obvious. The remaining bias in family court is related to money. Of course, 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 to deny their ex-partners time with their kids. Said one: “When I worked in private practice we would look for report writers who don’t do that level of investigation, who don’t report on the violence because that was in our client’s [the perpetrator’s] interest.”. When asked why, she referred them back to what she’d told the police, but became “extremely distressed” when pressed to elaborate. Credit: Tamra Carr, The Geraldton Guardian. Trust me. When presented with an individual that is allegedly a horrible person, we are all far too eager to feel like a hero and chastise the alleged perpetrator. But Court-Determined Custody Arrangements Are Still Strongly Anti-Father That is not the courts. The punishment for hostile parents could be extreme: they not only ran the risk of losing custody of their children, they could be blocked from seeing or even speaking to them for months. She says: “There is evidence of an increasing willingness in recent case law to transfer the residency of children from “alienating” mothers to their fathers. I am just waiting for the day that I won’t be allowed to see him again. 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 will never forget the first time we had to drop her back to him. You can find the original Guardian article here, and the letters to which I have referred here and here. More on that later. Both parties will always want more time, access, money, justice, etc. As humans we judge. He said: “Sodha … suggests that the system is weighted against women. The title says it all – “The idea that family courts are biased against men is a dangerous fallacy.” After that, those of us who toil in the family court reform vineyard know what’s coming, and Sodha doesn’t disappoint. The lack of transparency about how these decisions are made has allowed a dangerous narrative to prevail: that the system is biased against fathers. disproportionately male judiciary is more likely to rule against abused women Are family courts biased? But then I started reading their court documents and the research. Historically in family law, due … For all the latest news from Stowe Family law A recent report based on research by the University of Warwick examined nearly 200 family law case files from 2011 to investigate whether the family courts in England and Wales have a gender bias against fathers. The mother of our child has been granted legal aid and all the other support that comes with being a victim of domestic abuse, all with no evidence. I’ve lost count of the number of victimised parents, usually mothers, who’ve told me they are terrified to leave their violent relationships because they know that if they get drawn into the family law system, they cannot guarantee their children’s safety. When I first started hearing these stories I didn’t believe they were part of a pattern. Overnight stays were to be supervised by an “adult friend” of the father, to “address” the elder daughter’s nervousness, and the daughters should share a room for “mutual support”. Some names have been changed in this piece. Lucy thinks that’s because she was old enough for people to believe her. She says that judicial assumptions that children reluctant to have contact have been brainwashed by the non-resident parent seem to be on the rise. Yes, many fathers have a terrible time in the family law system. Jess Hill is an investigative reporter who is the author of the book on domestic violence See What You Made Me Do. In 1925, family courts evaluating cases of separation were guided by the Tender Years doctrine, which observed that kids under the age of 13 were more likely to be psychologically dependent on their mother for care. Even where serious violence had been proven, it found, supervised contact with abusive fathers was becoming much more common. More chilling, however, were findings Jeffries (and others) published in the UNSW Law Journal that same year. circuit judge His Honour Glenn Brasse leaping to the defence of the judiciary, And I can tell you that for every opinion in But there is a pyramid of harm. This is especially true if you and the child’s mother were never married. seen, it’s a desperately thin tightrope that the courts must negotiate, and Submit your details below, and we’ll arrange a free, no-obligation call back at a time to suit you. I’ll never forget sitting across from Lucy, an 18-year-old who, aged eight, had the courage to tell her school counsellor she was being sexually molested by her father. Being a father trying to use the system, it would be very easy for me to say that the system is heavily biased against fathers. The system needs to be overhauled, but not by Pauline Hanson who seems to be driven by vengeance on behalf of her son, Last modified on Mon 23 Sep 2019 00.46 EDT. But there is a pyramid of harm.’. How does this attitude influence the outcome of a custody dispute? This is the rot at the core of our family law system. Stop family court collusion with misogynist fathers’ lobby. The reverse is true. Nothing has left me more shocked – or more disturbed – than seeing the harm done to victims by the family law system. Getting caught up in the family court system can be one of the most daunting experiences in a man’s life. Okay, all of Thankfully I’m a wife beating, lager drinking helicopter mechanic, so that problem falls on the professionals that are respected to make those decisions and not stupid people like me obviously. I’ve spent almost five years investigating domestic abuse in Australia. In 2007, Rae Kaspiew (now at the Australian Institute of Family Studies) found there were very limited circumstances in which a mother could challenge ongoing paternal involvement, “except in cases where the evidence of severe violence was clear-cut”. A 2015 study by the University of Warwick concluded that family courts do not discriminate against the father. as we must remove any bias from the minds of judges, we must also allow them The vast majority of it being about men. "Yes there is bias, prejudice and discrimination in family court towards men. Whether we like it or not. The speaker continued by explaining why men lose in family court. If he doesn’t want to see his mother then it’s obvious the abusive perpetrator has caused it. and children”. The simple and short answer is yes, there is a perceived bias against fathers but i do not feel it is a bias held only by the courts, It extends far beyond that and I hope to be able to go someway to proving that to you albeit with anecdotal evidence. If my son says he does not want to visit his father then no court will force it. Mothers were seen as the primary caregivers and were often given custody, especially for children age seven and younger. He no longer practises, but has instead earned a reputation as one of the UK's best-known family law bloggers. It boils down to whether it’s all a facade or not. Not even at a fact finding hearing. As can be Yes the family court system is broken and needs reform. the recent discussion in the letters section of The Guardian newspaper regarding the suggestion that “the But that it would be easy to conclude from that that the ‘truth’ lies in the middle: Are remote family courts really horribly cruel? Many argue there could have been a societal bias that led fathers to give up custody, rather than bias by the courts since most fathers give up custody without the intervention of the courts. In 2001, a joint study by the family court and the University of Sydney found that the family law system had “tilted more and more against women, either by accident or design”. If you would like any advice on a family law issue, you can find further articles here or please do contact our Client Care Team to speak to one of our specialist family lawyers here. Just “It became very violent,” Lucy told me, “and if I wouldn’t comply, it was brought up that I wasn’t allowed to speak about it [by the court], so maybe I should just shut up and let it happen, and no one would believe me anyway”. closer look at the topic I highlighted in my weekly review post If you or someone you know is impacted by sexual assault or family violence, call 1800-RESPECT on 1800 737 732 or visit www.1800RESPECT.org.au. There is no excuse for an innocent man being deprived access to his children. great deal about family law, and the opinions of those who use the family But there was a catch: if a parent alleged abuse, they could be labelled a “hostile parent”, unwilling to support shared parenting. According to Slate, bias against fathers when it came to child custody was quite common in the past. highlighted in my weekly review post The anti-violence campaigner Rosie Batty even told me that were it not for the family law system, she would hardly have any victims contacting her. Anyone that has had their child taken from them will be irrational and not themselves. Stowe Family Law LLP is authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. This was a study on family reports – one of the most important pieces of evidence in a family law hearing – written by psychiatrists, social workers and psychologists, assessing the family dynamic and, commonly, evaluating allegations of abuse. Despite all this, the justice ordered that the daughters spend alternate weekends and half the school holidays with their father. the freedom to deal with cases without any preconceptions. They seem to rule based a lot on tradition, rather than reality. 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