In OZ Overington writes more sexist columns ~ Children sent back to violent father in NZ

Overington must be Australia's leading gender biased feminist writer and how her editors let her get away with such sexist reporting may be a function of how testicularly challenged they are.  It is rumoured she may have a dog in the shared parenting race and could gain if her marriage is on the rocks. Is the rumour she is marriage challenged true and wants to ensure ownership of the children? 

There appears to be much more at play in this story than what is being reported but it is clear there is mutual violence between the parties. That salient point didn't make it into the headline which should have read "Children being returned to New Zealand, to be reunited with their father who has not harmed them.  Studies show the female can initiate Intimate Partner Violence in upwards of 70% of cases.  Is this violence less impactful on the children who observe it.

It appears the mom is regurgitating info from an OZ DV shelter. I've heard similar stuff from women in Canada who are indoctrinated to leave the marriage rather than be referred to non-sexist family counselling as the ideology propounded in these shelters is strictly one sided. Man is bad ~ woman is benign.

How a 13 year old could be involved sexually with a then 20 year old and then move in with him at age 14 is of interest in terms of New Zealand's social services and criminal law.  Its clear her mother had problems and was her biological father driven out of her life at an early age? It is important to understand she sought his protection in OZ not her mother's wherever she is.  Chances are pretty good she is an addict or alcoholic who did not protect her daughter.  The whole shabby affair may be another good reason to ensure the biological father stays in the child's life through share parenting not the other way around as Overington wants to portray it.

Overington is a shallow and sexist reporter.MJM

• Caroline Overington
• From: The Australian
• March 17, 2010 12:00AM

A 19-YEAR-OLD Maori woman who abducted her two children from New Zealand has lost her bid to keep them in Australia after the Family Court rejected her claim that the children are at "grave risk" from their violent father. 

The woman, who cannot be named, told Australian authorities the father had started a sexual relationship with her when she was 13, and that she had begun living with him a year later.

She fled to Sydney last June after a violent assault in front of one of the children. Her biological father lives in Sydney and she has been staying with him.

But judge Stewart Austin, in the Sydney branch of the Family Court, ruled that the woman must return the children to New Zealand, saying it would be "presumptuous and offensive to the extreme" to assume New Zealand did not have a court and welfare system able to support her.

The father made his application to have the children returned under the Hague Convention on international child abductions, which provides for the rapid return of children from one signatory country to another, except where there is risk of harm.

The mother, known in court documents as Ms Morton, argued that she and the children were at "grave risk if forced to return to New Zealand" because her relationship had been "punctuated by domestic violence".
In May last year, there was a "violent incident" in the home in front of the children. The father was convicted and sentenced to 50 hours of community service. In June, the mother fled on one-way tickets purchased by a friend.

She told Justice Austin she was "particularly vulnerable" to the man because he had been having sex with her since she was a child and because she had whanau (friends) but no family in the small town where they lived.
The judge agreed there was "an imbalance of power" in the relationship, since the father is seven years older and owns property in the area.

But the mother had been able to "muster the courage to sever her relationship with the father" when she fled from New Zealand, and she was "beginning to realise that a relationship at that age (13) was inappropriate". With that knowledge, she might be able to resist slipping back into the relationship.

The judge said the father must agree not to "assault, molest, harass or otherwise interfere" with the mother, or come within 100m of her home.

The father did not deny assaulting the woman, telling welfare agencies he had "whacked her in front of the children", but he said the mother was violent towards him, and that they "willingly engaged in heated arguments and intimidated one another".
 
Justice Austin agreed there was "little doubt" the children had been exposed to domestic violence between their parents, but said the children "were never physically assaulted" by the father.

"I therefore conclude there is little or no risk of the children being exposed to physical harm if they return to New Zealand."

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/children-sent-back-to-violent-father-in-nz/story-e6frg6nf-1225841576535

RONA partners with the Canadian Women's Foundation ~ and becomes an enabler in the war against men

It would appear RONA has been invaded by feminist mythology about man is bad, woman is benign by hatching a very one sided approach to dealing with DV. Their video ad shows the helpless female with a child standing beside her while she is sporting a black eye.  The RONA brain trust have come to conclude we men are dangerous and they need to help these helpless women victims. DV is not a zero sum game where all men are bad and all women benign. It is far more complex and involves both genders equally. The following press release clearly shows the feminists involved at RONA, and we can only assume those at the management table are both testicularly challenged and completely unaware of the equal portions of DV in most western countries and the 70% initiation rate of DV by many females, sometimes with weapons.

This company continues the gender wars against men despite the fact we are its base. DV, I repeat,  is not a zero sum game and  many men have been lobbying for help. Given this is an extension of RONA's marketing to make it look like a good and chivalrous corporate citizen I suspect it will have lost more business by those of us boycotting them than they hope to gain from this exercise in misandry against men.  In fact RONA will never be my first choice of building supply centers ever again.

2010

March 5, 2010 - RONA partners with the Canadian Women's Foundation

RONA and its customers join forces to help women rebuild their lives after domestic violence Boucherville, Quebec, March 5, 2010 – RONA inc. (TSX: RON), the largest Canadian distributor and retailer of hardware, renovation and gardening products, announced a new partnership with the Canadian Women’s Foundation and the Canadian Association of Women in Construction (CAWIC), to help female victims of domestic violence re-establish their independence and rebuild their lives. To highlight this commitment, RONA is launching a fundraising campaign at all RONA stores across the country, backed by a commitment to match the donated funds with labour and building materials to renovate women’s shelters. To download the PDF version of this press release, you will need Acrobat Reader.

Page 1/1

The “Help us rebuild lives and end domestic violence” fundraising campaign will be launched on March 8, 2010 to help victims of domestic violence that have left abusive situations and are working toward independence, and to help their children too. The campaign will continue until April 4, 2010 in all RONA stores from coast to coast. For every dollar its customers donate to the Canadian Women’s Foundation, RONA will donate the equivalent in labour and building materials to renovate women’s shelters that house female victims of domestic violence. RONA’s goal is to raise $100,000. “On this 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day, we are proud to be associated with an organization that works every day to help women facing serious challenges and give them a second chance,” said RONA president and CEO Robert Dutton. “We have a special place in our hearts for helping to rebuild lives. For more than 10 years the RONA Foundation has helped struggling young people build their future. Supporting the Canadian Women’s Foundation reinforces the role our company plays in society by giving these women an opportunity to rebuild their lives, not only for themselves but for their children as well.” “Every year in Canada up to 360,000 children witness violence in the home and nearly 100,000 women and children seek refuge in a shelter,” says Beverley Wybrow, President and CEO of the Canadian Women’s Foundation. “Together with RONA and its customers, we are providing real hope for women, children and entire communities from coast to coast.” “With the help of our customers, RONA will make a difference by providing labour and building materials to renovate centres that shelter abused women,” said RONA executive vice president of marketing and customer innovations Claude Bernier. “As a leading home improvement retailer in Canada, we’re proud to help make these shelters comfortable and hospitable for the women and children who take refuge there.” Money raised will support innovative programs funded by the Canadian Women’s Foundation that provide shelter to women fleeing abuse, teach young people about healthy relationships, support children who have witnessed abuse, and rebuild the lives of women and children after they have experienced violence. RONA will provide the labour and building materials for a number of shelter renovation projects across the country and CAWIC will provide project management support. The fundraising efforts will be supported by an advertising campaign consisting of a TV message and in-store signage. The campaign was produced by the BOS agency, RONA’s marketing partner, in collaboration with Carat, RONA’s media planning partner. Starting on March 8, 2010, RONA customers will also be invited to visit www.rona.ca/women to learn more about the campaign and make a donation online. About RONA RONA is the largest Canadian distributor and retailer of hardware, renovation and gardening products. RONA operates a network of close to 700 corporate, franchise and affiliate stores of various sizes and formats. With nearly 30,000 employees working under its family of banners in every region of Canada and more than 16 million square feet of retail space, the RONA store network generates over $6 billion in annual retail sales. About the Canadian Women’s Foundation The Canadian Women’s Foundation (CWF) is Canada’s only national public foundation dedicated to improving the lives of women and girls. CWF researches, shares and funds the most promising approaches to ending violence against women, moving low-income women out of poverty, and empowering girls with confidence, courage and critical thinking skills. Ranked as on of the ten largest women's foundations in the world, the Canadian Women’s Foundation has funded nearly 1000 initiatives in every province and territory since 1991. Learn more at www.canadianwomen.org. About the Canadian Association of Women in Construction CAWIC's mandate is to facilitate the success of women in the construction industry through a variety of services including a bursary program, tours and workshops, mentoring programs, and networking opportunities. CAWIC's members represent the entire spectrum of the industry including contracting, architecture, engineering, interior design, facilities management, and the trades. For more information please visit www.cawic.ca.

For information:

Media
Julie Seidel
Director, External communications
RONA inc.
Phone: 514 599-5114
julie.seidel@rona.ca.

Financial Community
Stéphane Milot
Senior Director, Investor Relations
RONA inc.
Phone: 514 599-5951
stephane.milot@rona.ca.

Canadian Women’s Foundation
Sarah Ruddle
Director, Marketing and Communications
Phone: 416 619-9234
sruddle@canadianwomen.org.

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE EXPERT DR. DONALD DUTTON TO SPEAK AT VANCOUVER ISLAND UNIVERSITY

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NANAIMO, BC (March 10 - 2010) – MARS BC, the Men's Affordable Resources Society of British Columbia and the Faculty of Social Sciences, Vancouver Island University is presenting a talk on domestic violence by Dr. Donald Dutton on March 19^th at VIU's Nanaimo Campus.

Dr. Dutton is a Professor of Psychology at the University of British Columbia. His books include The Abusive Personality, The Domestic Assault of Women and Rethinking Domestic Violence. Dr. Dutton has served as an expert witness in several prominent legal cases involving domestic abuse and spousal homicide, including the O. J. Simpson case and more recently at the Oak Bay Inquest investigating the Peter Lee murders.

"In spite of a widening stream of statistical evidence to the contrary, the myth persists that it is women, and only women, who are the victims of intimate partner violence." says Dr. Dutton. "The stereotype of the male as a bully and the female as hapless victim is not supported by the data. Surveys from 1989 to 2007 keep finding the same thing; the most common form of domestic violence is two-way - both partners assault each other at about the same level of severity."

"The default demonization of one sex and victimization of the other is an insult to scientific integrity, a stumbling block to rehabilitation, a strong contributing factor in the ruining of many lives, and a shameful blot on our human rights record."

Dr. Dutton's talk on Domestic Violence is being held at Vancouver Island University in Nanaimo, Friday, March 19th from 7pm to 9pm, in the Student Union Building (Bldg 200), Room 203. Limited seating is available. A live internet webcast will be available – go to www.marsbc.com For more information phone: 250-716-1551 or email: info@marsbc.com .

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The Men's Affordable Resources Society of British Columbia (MARS BC) is a non-profit organization dedicated to helping & representing individuals and service organizations which provide resources for fathers and men throughout British Columbia. We strive to create healthier communities through education, advocating and developing relevant tools for fathers and men to build stronger communities in BC.

For more information about the services of MARS BC call 250-716-1551 (extension 14) or log on to our website www.marsbc.com.

Contact:

Kim Howland
Men's Affordable Resources Society of BC (MARS BC)
418D Fitzwilliam Street
Phone: 250-716-1551
Fax: 250-716-1557
Email: kim@marsbc.com
Website: www.marsbc.com

RONA has been Co-opted in the war against Men

RONA your local building center largely with a male customer base has bought the feminist propaganda that men are abusers and the Domestic Violence Industry needs their money to rebuild shelters.  They will have the effrontery to ask these males customers for a donation.  What the  clearly chivalrous brain trust who dreamed this up  at Rona doesn't know is the initiation of DV is often done by the female in upwards of 70% of situations. Harvard Medical School and the American Psychiatric Association both recently announced a major national study in the U.S. that found half of heterosexual domestic violence is reciprocal and that: "Regarding perpetration of violence, more women than men (25 percent versus 11 percent) were responsible. In fact, 71 percent of the instigators in nonreciprocal partner violence were women."

http://pn.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/full/42/15/31-a

Part of their verbiage is found here: http://www.rona.ca/rona/servlet/rona/women.jsp?storeId=10001&jspStoreDir=rona&langId=-1

Help us rebuild lives

Our objective is to raise $100,000 – we can do it with your help

RONA is proud to be associated with an organization that works every day to help women facing serious challenges and give them a second chance.

To highlight this commitment, RONA is launching a fundraising campaign online and at all RONA stores across the country, backed by a commitment to match the donated funds with labour and building materials to renovate women’s shelters.

Supporting the Canadian Women’s Foundation reinforces the role the company plays in society by giving these women an opportunity to rebuild their lives, not only for themselves but for their children as well.

Here's what else RONA doesn't know:  Domestic Violence is pretty much equal in Canada

Family violence in Canada: A statistical profile, 2005. An estimated 7% of women and 6% of men representing 653,000 women and 546,000 men in a current or previous spousal relationship encountered spousal violence during the five years up to and including 2004, according to a comprehensive Statistics Canada report on family violence.

http://www.statcan.gc.ca/Daily/English/050714/d050714a.htm 

Canadian Homicide Stats 2008

http://www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/091028/dq091028a-eng.htm

Total 611, 465 men 146 female
Rate of homicides with firearms has increased 24% since 2002. Handgun use on increase (gangs don't register their weapons)
Women victims 24% - lowest proportion ever
Men Victims 76%
Both the rate of females killed (0.87 per 100,000 population), as well as the proportion
(24%), were the lowest since 1961
62 spousal homicides - no change from 2007
Lowest rate in 40 years
45 women 17 (27.4%)men

Do biased family law regimes in Canada complete with the acceptance of false allegations of abuse as truth, the denigration of dads and men have anything to do with the murder suicides in families?

RONA doesn't know about single moms in the USA and Australia being the most likely to kill or maltreat their children.

Australian Data on Children killed. Total of 16 by mother and new partner and 5 by biological father.

Of the total substantiated cases of abuse in 2007-08, including by parents and where the gender of the perpetrator was determined, 463 were carried out by women and 353 by men.

University of Western Sydney academic Micheal Woods said yesterday that the statistics debunked the myth that fathers posed the greatest risk to their children.

Mr Woods, co-director of the university's Men's Health Information and Resource Centre, said if similar data was available in other States it would show similar trends.

Victims by Perpetrator Relationship, 2007

This pie chart presents victims by relationship to their perpetrators. More than 80 percent (80.1%) of victims were maltreated by at least one parent. Nearly 40 percent (38.7%) of victims were maltreated by their mother acting on her own.

Note the rate by mom and other is 44.4% while dad and other is 18.8%. The rate by the mother is 2.36 times higher than dad. That is 236% greater. Now how to explain that away to those who believe only men are abusive.   

RONA doesn't know these shelters are used for many other purposes including criminal behaviour. At any time 25% of the capacity is shown to have residents not there for DV. Others may say they are there for abuse but may not be as follows. One woman was able to hide successfully from Police for several weeks after kidnapping a child.  They are used by drug addicts who after abusing their families go to these shelters to "unwind" but can access drugs while present, illegal immigrants and bogus refugees  can hide undetected by immigration officers, some are used by transient women as rest stops. No independent financial or operational audits are undertaken and all clients are forced to sign non-disclosure agreements. 

DV is a serious issue in Canada but all RONA's behaviour does is support the notion it is a single gender only issue.

There are 569 tax supported female shelters in Canada. There is not one tax supported Domestic Abuse shelter for men.  I'm suggesting men who believe in fairness to both genders, as DV is serious but not gendered, take their business elsewhere. There are lots of building centers to choose from.

Rona is no stranger to male bashing.  Peter Regan took them on in 2007 and the following column appeared in the National Post:

National Post 

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

http://www.nationalpost.com/story-printer.html?id=127768

Excuse my gender

David Menzies,  National Post   


Published: Wednesday, November 28, 2007

To adapt the old Molson Canadian tag line: I am ... an idiot. You read it right: I'm an incompetent goof. A pathetic primate who can barely function in our oh-so-complicated world.

Why the lowly self-assessment? No, I didn't invest in Bre-X. Nor do I drive an Aztek. Rather, it's the advertising industry that's convinced me I'ma loser due to one glaring prerequisite: I'ma guy.

For the last several months, I've taken note of radio and TV ads that involve situations involving two people: one a man and the other a woman. In every spot except one (by FedEx), men were portrayed as imbeciles. Even if the script established the male character as a successful business owner, he still came across like the classic Phil Hartman character, Unfrozen Cave Man Lawyer from Saturday Night Live. (The defrosted Neanderthal continually grunted that common-place things in today's world -- "flashing neon signs" and "fast-moving cars" -- would "frighten and confuse" him.)

In today's advertising world, unfrozen cavemen abound.

In a recent Toyota radio ad, a male Toyota owner comes across as virtually brain damaged when he addresses a female Toyota customer-service clerk. He can't remember (or doesn't know) what needs to be serviced on his car. He doesn't even know what he wants to drink. Thank goodness for the know-it-all service rep who tells him what needs to be done to remedy his engine (without even popping the hood). She also informs him he's experiencing a craving for caffeine.

A CIBC radio ad establishes "Tom" as a successful businessman. Along comes a female customer who's not in Tom's line of business but, naturally, is an expert when it comes to Tom's trade. She tells him to install a CIBC e-commerce solution in a tone reminiscent of a principal addressing a kindergarten student.

Of note, one man recently had enough of the male-bashing. Peter Regan, a single parent in Calgary, filed a complaint with Advertising Standards Canada (ASC) after he took exception to a Rona ad. The spot depicts a female Rona employee dealing with a female customer who laments that her husband never helps around the house. The clerk responds: "That's OK. They [husbands] are all like that." In August, ASC decided the commercial indeed contravened regulations and "disparaged men and/or married men" and asked Rona to remove or alter the ad.

What is the unspoken strategy of having men cast as dimwits? It cannot be random chance. In fact, it's statistically impossible that in almost all ad scripts, the male is the one who is dazed and confused while the woman (or child) is portrayed as an oracle of wisdom.

My hunch: When it comes to getting slagged, men tend to take it, well, like a man. Aside from the aforementioned Rona complainer, men tend to be stoic and silent about such slights.

York University marketing professor Alan Middleton adds another noteworthy point: Since women in many households control the purse strings, ad agencies figure it's not a prudent idea to upset the individual who is likely to make the purchase. Thus, if the script calls for a dolt, it's a no-brainer the man will play the fool.

Indeed, as long as complainers such as Peter Regan remain the exception as opposed to the rule, expect men to be depicted as dumbbells in advertising for decades to come. Then again, what do I know?

d.menzies@sympatico.ca - David Menzies is a Toronto writer and pundit.

In Australia ~ Violence law faces challenge

Some Australian men are rising up to fight the laws that have painted them as defacto guilty of abusing their female partner as soon as an allegation is made.  Instead of whining about it they have taken action. Lets hope it spreads around the western world and we can get those raising false allegations, whether it is a female partner, wife, ex, lawyer, Domestic Violence  Shelter, welfare worker (I've got a good candidate working for the City of Sault Marie, welfare department,)  or social worker.

The civil rights of accused men are violated far too frequently in western democracies part of which is propaganda put out by Feminists and their testicularly challenged sycophants.

Thanks to Ken Thompson in OZ for the heads up. Ken's son Andrew was kidnapped by his wife to Europe and is still missing.MJM

GILL VOWLES

March 14, 2010 08:50am

A TASMANIAN group has filed a $200 million class action against Premier David Bartlett and the Director of Public Prosecutions.

It is believed to be the first Australian class action against a law.

JAIL (Juries Against Illegal Laws) filed papers with the Federal Court of Australia on February 4 claiming that the Family Violence Act 2004 (Tasmania) was invalid.
The group is claiming $200 million in damages under Section 46 of the Australian Human Rights Commission Act.

JAIL is also seeking an additional $200,000 in damages for unlawful assault, trespass, negligence, conspiracy to cause economic loss, intimidation and defamation.

The writ further seeks an order that the Tasmanian Government and DPP Tim Ellis cease to engage in arresting people without proper evidence or procedures, giving police judicial powers, denying people the right to a fair and proper hearing and usurping the proper role of the courts.

JAIL president Ray Escobar said that if the class action was successful the money would be given to all the Tasmanians who had suffered under the Family Violence Act.

JAIL, formed in early 2008, now has more than 200 members around Tasmania who have been, or are related to, victims of false applications for violence orders.

Mr Escobar said JAIL was being represented by one of the finest legal minds in Australia, Sir John Walsh of Brannagh, who lives on Norfolk Island.


Sir John said he agreed to represent JAIL because the case raised important and fundamental questions of human rights, such as the presumption of innocence, right to a fair trial and the separation of powers.
"The legislation, and the way it is enforced, is contrary to human rights and to international law as accepted by Australia," Sir John said.

"The legislation conflicts with the Constitution of Australia and with the fundamental rights of all Australians."
Sir John said he was confident a federal judge would apply the law of the Commonwealth and the fundamental principles of Australia's legal system.

JAIL's application has been set down for hearing in the Tasmanian registry of the Federal Court of Australia at 10am on Monday, April 12.

http://www.themercury.com.au/article/2010/03/14/133845_scalesofjustice.html

Peter Jaffe the biased Domestic Violence teacher at the University of Western Ontario has more mendacious quotes in the London Free Press

I would like to thank Ian for providing this valuable information. Ian quotes, in a kindly manner, the following about Jaffe: " Longtime domestic violence expert Peter Jaffe acknowledges "there are cases that involve false allegations, but they're a small minority." 

Jaffe is not a DV expert. He is a gender specific researcher in Domestic Violence. Less kindly people call him a gender bigot or worse. He does live in a world of Gender Apartheid where he completely ignores violence by women on men and children. 


He ignores the greater initiation precipitated in DV by females, http://pn.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/full/42/15/31-a , he ignores the equanimity of mutual partner aggression, http://www.statcan.gc.ca/Daily/English/050714/d050714a.htm and he ignores the over 1/3 serious injury rate of men who are often attacked with weapons. Further to this, he uses his highly biased one-sided research to remove men from their homes, deny dads a right to shared parenting and does great disservice to his own gender. We call his methods "kindly" gender biased. If you only report on one side of a two-sided problem, it is no more than propaganda and he is the leading Canadian researcher in this area. 

Please note the name of the section where he works. "UWO's Centre for Research on Violence Against Women and Children". Why is he called to give comments on a human problem when he deals with only one side? The foregone conclusion is he will report only in support of the feminist pogrom and canard that only men are abusers.

Jaffe must know that single moms are the most likely to kill or maltreat their child both in the USA http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/stats_research/index.htm and Australia. Academic large sample research in Canada shows similar causation. 

Mr. Jaffe carefully cherry picks information to give to reporters where he indicates false allegations are minor. In the 1998 Canadian Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect (N= 7,509) 22% of proven false allegations of sexual abuse were made by custodial parents. These were proven false but many more allegations are found to be unsubstantiated. This is a nice way for the social workers, largely female, to indicate not enough proof was evident to indicate they were false. Many non-custodial dads consider reports by the CAS protective workers to be less than satisfactory. The CAS' across Ontario are currently moving toward aligning themselves with the Violence Against Women (VAW) sector on an official basis rather than the current ad hoc approach. When this occurs, one can expect any reports by CAS protective workers to be highly biased and highly suspect. If the source reports for research lack veracity so then do the results. Ninety percent of physical custody is given to moms in Canada (86% in the USA) thanks to the kind of work Jaffe performs. False allegations increase during custody disputes. If shared and equal parenting were presumed, conflict would be reduced with a lesser likelihood of false allegations. 

A U.S. Air Force study found that 30% of the accusations against alleged male perpetrators were proven false, through DNA evidence or otherwise.  When faced with the prospect of a lie detector test, another 30% of the accusers either failed the test, or refused to take it.  Other major studies put the rate of false accusations of rape at 50 – 60%.
 
In the USA one study found 71% of civil restraining orders were unnecessary or false. (Foster BP. Analyzing the cost and effectiveness of governmental policies. Cost Management Vol. 22, No. 3, 2008.) 

Another analysis found over half of restraining orders did not involve even an allegation of violence. (Office of the Commissioner of Probation, Massachusetts Trial Court: The tragedies of domestic violence: A qualitative analysis of civil restraining orders. October 12, 1995.) 

Ex-MP calls for shared parenting 

DIVORCE: Sarnia-Lambton's Roger Gallaway says judges should grant equal parenting except in proven cases of abuse 

By IAN GILLESPIE, The London Free Press
Last Updated: March 10, 2010 8:35am

When it comes to gaining access to their kids, a growing number of divorced fathers say they've been stymied by a police and court system that reflexively views women as believable and men as violent.


It's an emotional topic that dismays many of those who work in the field of domestic violence.


But a growing number of men's groups -- and a private member's bill (C-422) that would amend the Divorce Act by instructing judges to grant equal shared parenting except in proven cases of abuse -- are advancing this view. 

One man I spoke to, for instance, says his ex-wife falsely accused him of slamming a van door on her leg. And even though that assault charge was later withdrawn by the Crown attorney, the man says the allegations damaged his reputation during proceedings with a family court judge who restricted his access to his kids. 

It's those kinds of situations that the fledgling London Equal Parenting Committee will explore during "an evening of awareness in relation to domestic violence" Thursday at Crouch Library. 

The evening's main speaker is Roger Gallaway, the former Sarnia-Lambton MP who co-chaired a 1998 federal report called For The Sake Of The Children, which examined issues surrounding child custody. 

"What I find distressing is the lack of objectivity around this whole subject," says Gallaway, who represented his riding for the Liberal party from 1993 to 2006. "There has to be some type of balance put into the discussion. And it's sadly lacking." 

Gallaway regrets that none of the 1998 report's recommendations -- including a call for stricter rules regarding the reporting of abuse -- were ever adopted.
"An allegation of violence is a weapon," he says. "And in Ontario we have a zero-tolerance policy, which generally speaking says that when allegations are made, it's the male who's removed (from the residence). And that then casts the die for what will occur in terms of child custody or access."
Gallaway adds that more and more people are starting to realize that more and more deserving fathers are being shortchanged when it comes to contentious custody battles. 

"There's a growing constituency . . . that sees what's occurring and knows these men aren't bad people," he says. "So the doubt about what is being said about (so-called) violent men is growing." 

Longtime domestic violence expert Peter Jaffe acknowledges "there are cases that involve false allegations, but they're a small minority."


Jaffe insists, however, that there are enough checks and balances already embedded within the justice system to filter out dubious allegations.


"The No. 1 problem we have in 2010 is people living with violence and abuse and not getting help for it," says Jaffe, academic director of UWO's Centre for Research on Violence Against Women and Children. "What's needed is more resources." 

What's really needed, of course, is a co-operative culture where estranged parents do what's best for their kids. But that's about as likely as me having a baby. 

IF YOU GO
 
What: Domestic Violence in Divorce: Propaganda and other Fictions, presented by the London Equal Parenting Committee and featuring Roger Gallaway.

When: Thursday, 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.


Where: Crouch Library, 550 Hamilton Rd.

Admission: Free (for details call 519-614-8713 or e-mail lepcinfo@gmail.com)
Ian Gillespie is a Free Press city columnist.