RADAR ALERT:
Out-of-Control DV Allegations Hurt Families and Children

Let’s say you’ve never physically abused your spouse or children. Now imagine the following scenario:

1. Your spouse accused you of domestic violence on the basis that you “harassed” her. (According to RADAR’s recent report, “Expanding Definitions of Domestic Violence, Vanishing Rule of Law,” 17 states now consider harassment to be a form of domestic “violence.”)
2. The accusation was made during an ex parte hearing, so you had no opportunity to be present during the hearing or to refute the charge.
3. As a result of the false accusation, temporary custody of your children and other benefits were awarded to the accuser.
4. State laws in 26 states require the incident to be considered by the divorce judge as a “best interest of the child” consideration. As a result, you were not able to receive shared custody, even though you never abused your children, or were never even accused of abuse.

Each year, over 2-3 million restraining orders are issued – in half those, there is not even an allegation of violence. When parents make false allegations of domestic abuse, children are harmed the most. In many cases, a variety of perverse incentives are at work behind those allegations that harm children, according to a Special Report issued by RADAR.

“Perverse Incentives, False Allegations, and Forgotten Children” analyzes state domestic violence laws and the incentives they provide to make false claims. The report is now available at http://www.mediaradar.org/docs/Perverse-Incentives.pdf.

As a result of being separated from the father, children are placed at higher risk of child abuse, academic difficulties, conduct problems, and involvement with the criminal justice system.

The report is designed to be shared with media representatives, state lawmakers, and judges.

Date of RADAR Release: September 13, 2006

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Register now for the National Family Law Reform Conference, to be held September 15-16 in Alexandria, Virginia (near Washington, DC). The conference will address the crisis of family law, including biased family courts, false allegations of domestic violence, child abuse, and much more. For more information: http://www.acfc.org/site/Calendar?view=Detail&id=100021

R.A.D.A.R. – Respecting Accuracy in Domestic Abuse Reporting – is a non-profit, non-partisan organization of men and women working to improve the effectiveness of our nation's approach to solving domestic violence. http://www.mediaradar.org