Unfortunately, alerting a court to the possibility that her child is being physically or sexually abused by the child's father often has devastating consequences for the mother, particularly in the context of custody litigation, As explored in the National Judicial Education Program's model curriculum Adjudicating Child Sexual Abuse Allegations When Custody is in Dispute ( Schafran, Adjudicating Allegations of Child Sexual Abuse, 1997). Many judges, custody evaluators, law enforcement, social workers, physicians and others are unaware of why child sexual abuse may begin or first come to light, when the parents separate. This results in unwarranted animus toward the mother, who is seen as making false allegations in order to deprive the father of access to his children and to get a leg up in the divorce/custody case. This animus toward the mother in turn results in custody awards that fail to protect children: primary custody is awarded to the alleged abuser -- often with restrictions on the mother's access, or there is an award of joint custody or primary custody to the protective parent but no provision for supervised visitation with the alleged abuser.

In response to this phenomenon, New York State has recently enacted a "Protective Parents" provision. It provides that so long as a parent has a good faith belief for making an accusation of child abuse, "then that parent shall not be deprived of custody, visitation or contact with the child, or restricted in custody, visitation or contact." Moreover, "if an allegation that a child is abused is supported by a preponderance of the evidence, then the court shall consider such evidence of abuse in determining the visitation arrangement that is in the best interest of the child, and the court shall not place a child in the custody of a parent who presents a substantial risk of harm to that child." See New York State Domestic Relations Law 240(1)(a), as amended September 4, 2008.

Such innovations in law help to ensure that concerned parents seek assistance from the judicial system.