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29 Clearinghouse Rev. 1113 (1995-1996)
Protecting the Children in Custody: Disputes When One Parent Abuses the Other

handle is hein.journals/clear29 and id is 1149 raw text is: Protecting the Children in Custody: Disputes When One Parent Abuses the Other by Joan Zorza I. Introduction Domestic violence hurts children, both physically and emotionally. And the vio- lence may not end even after the parties separate; indeed, separation may actual- ly provide fathers with more opportuni- ties to hurt their children. It is a myth that women most often win contested custody disputes; in fact, fathers who fight win either sole or joint custody a majority of the time. And, in part due to bias in the law and the courts, abusive fathers win custody disputes at least as often as nonabusive fathers. This article discusses these issues and suggests ways to protect mothers and their chil- dren better from abusive fathers in cus- tody disputes.1 II. Spousal Violence: Men Abusing Women Spousal violence is overwhelmingly caused by men who batter and abuse their current and former female part- ners. Women are overwhelmingly the partners that are psychologically terror- ized and physically injured by this abuse.2 The men who batter and psy- chologically terrorize their wives and intimate partners do so to dominate, control, and punish them. In contrast, when women use seemingly abusive tactics against their partners, they are almost always trying to escape or de- fend themselves and their children, and their male partners seldom experience psychological terror.3 This article is based on the author's written testimony before the U.S. Commission on Child and Family Welfare in April 1995. 2 Russell P. Dobash et al., The Mytb of Sexual Symmetry in Marital Violence, 39 Soc. PROBS. 71, 74-75 (1992), noting that women constitute well over 90 percent of all spousal assault victims; Tina Busey, Women Defendants and Reactive Survival Syndrome, 1 CATALYST 6 (Winter 1993), noting that over 95 percent of women referred into batterer treatment pro- grams by the criminal justice system are either self-defending victims or were wrongfully accused by their abusive husbands. Although abuse can occur in same-sex couples or, rarely, by women against their male partners, this is not to imply that abuse perpetrated by females is not less harmful or is justified. 3 Dobash et al., supra note 2; Mildred Daley Pagelow, Adult Victims of Domestic Violence, 7 J. INTERPERSONAL VIOLENCE 109 (1992); L. Kevin Hamberger et al., The Intended Function of Domestic Violence Is Different for Arrested Male and Female Perpetrators, FAM. VIOLENCE & SExuAL ASSAULT BULL., Nos. 3-4 1994, at 40-44; Daniel G. Saunders, Wife Abuse, Husband Abuse or Mutual Combat, in FEMINIST PERSPECTIVES ON WIFE ABUSE 90-113 (Kersti Yllb & Michele Bograd eds., 1988). Joan Zorza, the editor of Domestic Violence Report, is a liaison to the American Bar Association Commission on Domestic Violence and a consultant to the American Medical Association and National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges; (212) 888-6647; E-mail at jzorza @panix.com. APRIL 1996 1 CLEARINGHOUSE REVIEW 1113

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