When the home becomes unsafe a parent can flee with the children to a

shelter or safe place to escape the violence. But just when the parent,

usually the mother, thinks she's safe, a whole new problem arises.

According to a report from the American Psychological Association

Presidential Task Force on Violence and the Family (Violence and the

Family, 1996 report), fathers who battered the mother are twice as

likely to seek sole physical custody of their children than are

non-violent fathers. And a recent booklet by the American Judges'

Foundation (Domestic Violence & the Courtroom: Understanding the

Problem...Knowing the Victim) states: "batterers have been able to

convince authorities that the victim is unfit or undeserving of sole

custody in approximately 70% of challenged cases."

It's hard to believe that many children already exposed to abuse

continue to be raised by abusers through their learning years. Children

raised by abusive role models learn unhealthy ways to manage conflicts.

This has dire consequences for children from abusive homes and

ultimately for an entire generation. Here's how it happens:

The Protective Connection

Upon intake, if the shelter learns the children have been abused,

women's and children's advocates encourage the mother to make the

required report to Children's Protective Services (CPS) so she won't

later be accused of "failure to protect." They also encourage the mother

to file a Protective Order and participate in counseling. Unfortunately,

CPS considers any situation in which one parent has left the other

parent to be a custody case and, as many mothers have learned, CPS does

not investigate "custody cases." Thus necessary investigations

frequently do not take place or helpful evidence becomes stale.

The Legal Connection

When the mother receives the Protective Order, the order likely contains

"no finding of violence" (common wording in uncontested cases). Defense

attorneys can successfully use the "no finding of violence" in the

Protective Order to argue at the arraignment (if he's been arrested)

that he's not guilty. Now the abuser's attorney has free reign to

present the mother at the custody hearing as vindictive, crazy, and

unfit or, equally damaging, that she suffers from Munchoussen by Proxy

or Parental Alienation Syndrome. The Protective Order, once a

life-saving decision, now makes the mother appear vindictive and

unstable. The judge, following legal precedence, removes the children

from the mother or orders her into counseling to "fix" her. Ordering the

mother into counseling furthers the idea that the problem lies with the

mother and provides grounds for future legal hearings.

The Welfare Connection

Abuse is strongly linked with financial control, and abusers in the past

comprised a large percentage of the deadbeat dads. However, recent

changes in the law require mothers to first seek child support before

obtaining public funds for their children. Threatened with having to pay

child support, formerly non-supportive fathers are increasingly seeking

custody to avoid having to pay. Abusers, often better able to afford

legal representation, now rely on legal precedence to favor them. Abuse

is no longer a legal factor, and mothers are suspect for bringing it up.

The Whole Picture

What we forget is that GOOD fathers don't hurt their children's mothers.

GOOD fathers support their children where ever they live. Unfortunately,

criminals (abusers) DO become fathers, though they're not easy to spot

until the violence begins. When an abusive man selects the mother of his

children to destroy, he does not stop when she leaves the home.

There's a website (now relocated) that tells abusers how to remove

custody from mothers. There is advice for the abuser such as to use a

female judge or attorney to remove children from the mother; verbally

alter schedules while sticking to the original (so others will perceive

the mother as unstable); file police reports against the mother whenever

police arrive for a disturbance (no one knows what "really" happened,

and the reports can be used in court to cast a shadow on the mother's

fitness); sexually stimulate the child until the mother or another adult

seeks help (child molestation is hard to prove, and once a mother seeks

help, she is easily presented in court as vindictive and interfering in

the father-child relationship).

Family court, which has in the past ignored the best interests of

children by blindly assigning custody away from fathers has now reversed

itself in dangerous ways. Everyone wants to see GOOD fathers involved in

their children's lives. Unfortunately, when abuse has been involved,

children's needs are ignored for the politics of the day.

What Can We Learn from History?

The hardest wrongs to correct are those that appear too wrong to be

true. Who can believe we are awarding children to abusers to prepare

them for adult life? To end the Holocaust, we had to accept that the

problem existed in the first place. Such is the situation with mothers

and children from abusive homes today. The problem exists.

For more information, contact your local women's shelter or write Moms

On the Move, P.O. Box 164061, Austin, TX 78716.

Now here is my story and pleas for help:

Recently the court gave physical and legal custody of two girls, just weeks before their 2nd and 3rd birthdays, to their father, separating them from a mother and brother. The court found that I was "a person who intentionally and willfully devotes extraordinary effort and time into alienating her children from their fathers", specifically since I was "breastfeeding beyond normalcy", and my 16 year old son's father testimony against me, on behalf on my ex-husband. This was found even that the girls were weaned and bouncing back and forth every three days in a shared custody, and my oldest father had been criminally procesuted by the DA for unpaid support in excess of 23K, and a history of DUI's. This PAS is not even accepted by the APA or AMA.

I did not file first for the divorce, choosing to stay in the abusive relationship due to legitimate fear. In addition, between 1995 and 1997 I was pregnant 3 times, experiencing the death of one child and the joyous life of our two daughters. When, our youngest was born with severe difficulties, I personally cared for her both in NICU and at home afterwards. I never went to work until she was 6 months old the end of 1997, and the Doctor released her from the daily medication for her breathing. Only after the Stipulated Agreement signed and dated by original Judge in March 1998, did I actually separate from my husband on April 5, 1998.

An evaluation purchased by my husband was used with unverified, misquoted and omitted information unilaterally supplied by both my ex's; as per his request to the court that Dr. …evaluate me for "Parental Alienation Syndrome". All medical reports of abuse, both spousal and child were omitted. In addition, counselors, teachers and others were never contacted who would provide information regarding the children or myself. The Dr.s even stated "Mr. …. results suggest he has problems which result from outbursts of anger and hostility which may frequently be directed towards family members….he often expresses his feelings in an overly intense, imature and destructive manner…..unless have complete control".

This "complete control" is Domestic Violence. The purpose of battering is to instill fear, intimidate and control, using physical, verbal, emotional and psychological abuse against a spouse or child.

Curiously, even after an expert in the field of Domestic Violence testified in court, her findings that I was truthful and displayed the normal reactions of a battered women., the judge still would not allow medical reports from Kaiser, or police reports to be admitted as evidence. He also would not allow me other witness, specifically stating he only was interested in the "alienation".

The girl's father is an Israeli citizen. I was unaware that he was an illegal when we married, until after when he had me sign the papers. He has no green card yet, and tried to force me to obtain it when his temporary expired last August. He already has denied our daughter her American birthright, by having her declared an Israeli Citizen complete with Israeli passport.

Over and over, as I have been unable to afford an attorney my legal and constitutional rights have been denied.

I have been taken to court over a half dozen OSC's in the last 12 months, several which were signed in favor of my former spouse in Judge's private chambers.

Today, with my average take home pay around $1600 monthly, the Judge ordered me to pay child support of over $1200 monthly, to a man who owns multi-million businesses and property both in the United States and in Israel.

Please, I have another court in just a few weeks. I need help. I am terrified of this man, who is illegal in this country and just because he is rich, he can hurt and destroy those around him. I fear for the safety of two innocent baby girls,.

He is stalking me, threatening me. I fear that the girls will be taken out of the country very soon

Please help

If you can offer legal or emotional assistance to the author, please email me and I will forward the mail to her. Email me at:

womansworldlove@aol.com In the subject please list help for Beverly.