NCJ Number
203644
Journal
Research & Action Report Volume: 25 Issue: 1 Dated: Fall/Winter 2003 Pages: 7-9
Editor(s)
Jan Putnam
Date Published
2003
Length
3 pages
Annotation
This article discusses a report documenting the human rights violations battered women suffer in Massachusetts family courts.
Abstract
Forty battered mothers with experience in 11 of Massachusetts’ 14 counties were interviewed. They were diverse in terms of race, age, socioeconomic status, and sexual orientation. But their problems were remarkably similar. The findings show that courts fail to protect battered women and children by issuing child custody rulings that endanger them and giving custody to batterers. Child abusers are given unsupervised visitation. Women and children are required by the court to interact with their abusers with no protection. Other findings indicated discrimination and bias against mothers, degrading treatment, denial of due process, and failure to respect economic rights. Ironically, Massachusetts is a leader in addressing domestic violence through criminal prosecution, crisis intervention, and social and public health services. Battered women are getting the message to leave their batterers, but when they leave they have to go to family court to resolve issues. This way, batterers can continue the abuse following separation. Women are at a disadvantage in court. The Massachusetts Presumption of Custody Law that affirms that children’s best interests are not served when they are placed in the custody of a batterer or child abuser is not regularly enforced. Women usually receive custody in uncontested cases, but a 1989 gender bias study showed that fathers win custody three times more often than mothers in contested cases. Battered mothers may stay with the batterer because they at least have some measure of control when they are present in the home. Steps toward taking action to change this problem include the founding of the Massachusetts Protective Parents Association and a new early intervention partnership between the Women’s Bar Foundation and Help for Abused Women and Children, an advocacy group.