Home is Where the Harm is Op-ed by Joan Meier
The New York Times Excerpt:
“Proponents of the [Hague] convention, which the United States signed in 1981, characterize it as a means of reunifying families. And it can be. However, in practice, it often has a dark side: in many cases children and custodial mothers are being sent back to a dangerous or abusive father from whom they fled. . . .
The State Department and Congress should work to ensure that courts and countries implement a more balanced application of the Hague convention, one that protects children and their protective parents from harmful returns.”
Protecting Children After Newtown.
“Time’s Up” blog Excerpt:
“EVERY YEAR IN THE UNITED STATES, WE SUFFER THE EQUIVALENT OF FOUR TO FIVE NEWTOWNS IN THE LOSS OF PRECIOUS CHILDREN AT THE HANDS OF ABUSIVE FATHERS INVOLVED IN CONTESTED CHILD CUSTODY CASES. I say this based on research that found news stories about 175 children murdered in a recent two year period by abusive fathers. In many of the cases the outdated and discredited practices used by the custody courts gave these fathers the access they needed to murder their children.”
Death of a toddler raises questions in Montgomery, Pr. William.
by Editorial Board of The Washington Post.
A 15 month old was taken off life support after being declared brain-dead. A day earlier, paramedics had found him unresponsive, cold and without a pulse at his father’s home in Manassas, where he had been on his fourth unsupervised visit permitted by Montgomery County Circuit Court amid a bitter custody battle. His mother had fiercely opposed unsupervised visits warning that if something happened to him, he was too young to tell anyone.
Generals Petraeus and Allen – Helping a Domestic Violence Victim?
By Ben Atherton-Zeman
Headlines are dominated by General David Petraeus and General John Allen. Petraeus had an affair with his biographer – both have been connected to Tampa socialite Jill Kelley. Two months ago, both generals submitted affidavits in support of Khawam’s custody proceedings, as did Mrs. Petraeus. Reporters have ignored compelling evidence of Khawam’s abuse, preferring instead to focus on the Generals’ letters as further evidence of an inappropriate relationship.
No Way Out But One: Custody, Abuse and the Family Courts
by Nancy Doyle Palmer, Huffington Post,
No Way Out But One debuts this week on the Documentary Channel and is as much an examination of this country’s family court system as it is the very personal story of Holly Collins.
Collins became an international fugitive when she fled the U.S. with her three children after a court granted custody to her ex despite claims of physical abuse. She and her children eventually sought asylum from the government of Netherlands.
Damon’s Story: Lost in the System
by Fox 11 News (Los Angeles)
A16 year old boy speaks out about how the family court system has failed to protect him.Damon tells his story which he’s been trying to tell for years, mostly through YouTube.
Read more: http://www.myfoxla.com/story/19502814/damons-story-a-first-look#ixzz26Sd6wPt2
Mother who became fugitive to protect son returns to court
WSMV News (Nashville, TN)
It all started back in 2008 when Dunn was told by her son’s pediatrician the boy was being sexually assaulted. Then, an 11-person state investigative team looked into it and decided Cone, the boys’ father, was sexually abusing his son. But when Dunn went to court in front of Hicks, she not only didn’t win her case, but she also lost primary custody of her son.
Sandusky Trial and Horace Mann Saga: Why Sexual Violence Should be a Household Word
by Sarah Dropek, PolicyMic
“Don’t just let this moment pass by without acknowledgement, like so many other news headlines do. Allow sexual violence to become a household word because doing that is a first step in creating a world free from sexual violence.”
Male Survivor issues statement on the Sandusky and Lynn verdicts
“Abuse thrives on shadows, secrecy, and silence. When those who have been silenced begin to speak, we all begin to heal.”
