 I was only with my daughter’s father for 8 months; however, it took me 7 years to finally get away from him. He had originally not been interested in my pregnancy, however after I finally left, he was able to use the court system as another form of control and abuse. We were in and out of the family court for seven years, with the final court case lasting three years. My ex had a well-documented criminal history of drug abuse and domestic violence, which the judge deemed irrelevant. There were also many documented incidences of violent behaviour towards other women, but these were also dismissed. Communication kept breaking down due to his violent outbursts, so I asked for contact to be returned to a contact centre to protect myself. Social services had said if I continued to let him hit me in front of my daughter, they would remove her from my care and possibly give her to him. I was absolutely dumbfounded. He retaliated by taking filing for overnight access, something he had never had. He was entitled to legal aid as he supposedly didn’t work. I did work so could not get legal aid, but also couldn’t afford an attorney. It was a vertical learning curve. I asked for a psychological assessment, which the judge was extremely reluctant to allow. Two years later, after all other means had failed, including a warrant for me to serve 10 days in prison, it was finally granted. The psychological assessment exposed him for exactly what he was. It proved I had not been lying and that he posed a serious risk to both me and my daughter. That was 15 years ago. It saddens me that nothing has changed. FROM: "Faces of the Crisis" a Women's Coalition Exhibit
http://bit.ly/FacesOfTheCrisis SHARE, comment and react in support of Emma! MORE Posts of Faces & Stories: http://bit.ly/FacesOfTheCrisisEvent Why are women losing custody in epidemic numbers? "The Custody Crisis: Why It's Happening & How We Can End It" https://youtu.be/Wgo4Rpvy7bc "FACES OF THE CRISIS" is an exhibit created by The Women's Coalition to raise awareness about the international epidemic of judges switching custody to self-serving and abusive men: https://www.womenscoalitioninternational.org Participate in the exhibit by sending your photo to: [email protected][email protected]. You may include a brief account of how you lost custody or were unable to protect your child(ren) if you want. [NOTE: your submission may be edited for clarity, brevity or anonymity.] COLLECTION of stories from submissions: https://1drv.ms/w/s!Aof0RIpSsZZCgoZuINAXgcSlRUraxA Join The Women's Coalition to help raise awareness and fight for a new system: [email protected] DONATE If you appreciate the work of The Women's Coalition, please consider donating! Paypal: http://bit.ly/DonateWomensCoalition Facebook Donate button Facebook Fundraiser Amazon Smile: https://smile.amazon.com/
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AuthorCindy Dumas, M.A. has been researching, writing, and raising awareness about the Custody Crisis since 2003, when she was unable to protect her children from their abusive father. She fled into hiding when Family Court failed her and was tricked into returning home, when her children were given to their abusive father. Archives
January 2022
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