by Sarah Okeson, News-Leader

Domestic violence advocates say batterers sometimes use child custody proceedings as a way to continue to exert control.
“Victims of domestic violence can be made to appear less healthy and less stable in court, especially without legal counsel, which is a result of the abuse they have suffered,” Seal said. “Abusers capitalize on this appearance and present a cognitive frame to the court that they are the ‘responsible parent,’ and the victim is in fact mentally unstable and financially unwise. Far too often this results in abusers being given too much control over children and the non-abusive parent.”