NCJ Number
144907
Journal
Vanderbilt Law Review Volume: 44 Issue: 5 Dated: (October 1991) Pages: 1041-1097
Date Published
1991
Length
57 pages
Annotation
This article discusses the relationship between domestic violence and child custody and critiques the various approaches through which concerns about domestic violence have been incorporated into child custody decisions.
Abstract
The author first surveys the dimensions of the problem of domestic violence and explains the effects of domestic violence on the mother, father, and children. The relevance of domestic violence in custody decisions is demonstrated by explaining several ways in which it negatively affects children's well-being, even when not directed at them. The effects of domestic violence on women's mothering abilities are also explained. The author then addresses the various formulations of child-custody standards and shows how they complicate consideration of domestic violence. Another section of the article examines various models in statutes and cases that link the two issues and critiques the various reasons that courts have used to justify consideration of domestic violence. The article also explores the reasons that courts may resist the integration of domestic violence into custody decisions, based on perceptions of the nature of victims of domestic violence. The author argues that it is symptomatic of myths about domestic violence that evidence of abuse is not generally accepted in custody litigation. She suggests that State courts and legislatures can better address these issues by making parental violence an explicit component when courts, parents, and social workers consider the best interests of the child in custody cases. 293 footnotes