While many courts have made significant advances in addressing domestic violence matters between two intimate partners, that knowledge can prove inadequate when the questions turn to custody and visitation, and what, if any, access an abusive spouse ought to have to the couple's children. (Ver Steegh, Differentiating Types of Domestic Violence, 2005). Unfortunately, courts have often been more punitive than helpful in securing stability for the victim and her children.
"[R]aising allegations of abuse often hurts the abused or protective parent more than the alleged abuser. An ongoing study funded by the National Institute of Justice shows that women who inform custody mediators that they are victims of domestic violence often receive less favorable custody awards."
"The investigators found that only 35% of mothers who alleged domestic abuse got primary custody, compared to 42% of mothers who did not. Fathers who were accused of domestic violence were given primary custody in 10% of cases, fathers not accused of domestic violence got primary custody 9% of the time."
