Family Court Decision Making that Escalates Risk - Response to the ALRC Review of the Family Law System
- Details
- Category: Family court ordered child sexual abuse
- Created: Sunday, 11 August 2024 22:49
- Written by Alecomm2
The attached submission outlines numerous cases where children disclosed sexual abuse by a parent or step-parent, and the outcomes regarding custody. The findings are troubling, as they indicate a pattern where allegations of sexual abuse are frequently dismissed, and custody is often awarded to the accused parent. Here are key points from the document:
- Sole Custody Awarded to Alleged Abusers:
In many cases, despite children disclosing sexual abuse, sole custody was awarded to the father, often the alleged abuser. For example, in the Watson & Burton (2015) case, the children disclosed sexual abuse by the father, including anal abuse, yet the father was granted sole custody.
Similarly, in the Bilney & Brisco (2013) case, despite the mother repeatedly notifying authorities about the father's alleged sexual abuse, the court awarded sole custody to the father. The court expert labelled the mother as delusional, dismissing the abuse allegations.
- Dismissal of Children's Disclosures:
In several instances, judges disregarded children's disclosures of sexual abuse. For instance, in Prentice & Wilfred (2017), the judge suggested that the child's disclosures might have resulted from suggestibility rather than actual abuse, leading to the father being granted sole custody.
In the Stapleton & Hayes (2009) case, despite children detailing specific instances of abuse, including vaginal and anal penetration, the father was granted sole custody.
- Shared Custody with Alleged Abusers:
Even in cases where the mother was awarded custody, fathers accused of sexual abuse were often granted unsupervised access. For example, in the Susskind & Dean (2014) case, despite children disclosing sexual abuse by the father over four months, the judge claimed the children were coached, and the father was granted weekend overnight unsupervised access.
- Psychiatric Dismissal of Protective Parents:
Judges often labelled mothers who reported their children’s disclosures of abuse as mentally unstable, leading to custody being awarded to the father. For example, in the Somers & Somers (2010) case, the mother was labelled as having "discrete paranoid delusions," and the father was awarded sole custody.
- Contradictory Orders:
In some cases, even after a parent was found with evidence of abuse or was convicted, the court still allowed the abuser to have access to the child. For example, in the Helpman & Purton (2017) case, the father was charged with sexual abuse, but after the prosecution failed to provide evidence, the father was granted unsupervised access to the child.
These patterns suggest significant issues within the family law system where children's disclosures of abuse are not adequately protected, and custody decisions often favour the alleged abuser, especially when the alleged abuser is the father.
‘Placed in greater harm’: Five sex abuse reports a week in Victorian child protection
