Weaponised domestic violence orders - state sanctioned parental alienation

As I have described in a previous blog, anecdotally, many simply disappear from the system - priced out by fees that can run into tens of thousands of dollars or worn down by conditions so restrictive that continuing feels pointless. The government has never bothered to collect the data that would tell us either way.

Even the dads who win that precious piece of paper - a court order giving them contact with their children - aren't necessarily better off. A 2022 national study of parenting order compliance, commissioned by ANROWS, surveyed 470 parents and carers, 88% of whom reported non-compliance with their orders. The researchers also examined a random sample of 300 court files where someone applied to enforce an order, and fathers were the applicants in most of them. Only 6% of those applications were upheld, and a fine was imposed in 0.4%.

And if he pushes back

Shockingly, 46% of adults in NSW prisons are now on remand: legally innocent and awaiting trial - the highest proportion ever recorded, according to BOCSAR data. BOCSAR says about half of the growth in remand over the past two years is due to more domestic violence defendants being held in custody before their court date, and one in three adults on remand is now there over an alleged domestic violence offence.

Some of these men are fathers who breached an order trying to make contact with their own children. Nobody publishes the exact breakdown. But the mechanics are plain enough:

• an order with a no-contact condition;

• no built-in pathway to see his children;

• a criminal offence, one that can mean remand, the moment he tries anyway.

That is a machine for turning a father's love for his children into prison time.

What I've since learned about Britain

While I commend David for his excellent work pulling all this material together, I take issue with a few points. In his podcasts he suggests the UK does a far better job of examining the evidence before protection orders are issued. That's not what I'm hearing from the UK. William Collins, who writes the excellent British blog The Illustrated Empathy Gap, says the system there is deteriorating rapidly. The UK has lowered the rank of police officer needed to authorise its new protection notices, specifically to increase their use. England and Wales now issue more than 37,000 non-molestation and occupation orders a year, and the number keeps rising. On paper, British family courts are supposed to investigate disputed abuse allegations before limiting a parent's time with their children. But Collins says this rarely happens in practice. Outcomes depend largely on the view of the court's welfare officer and on the individual judge. As he put it to me, the resident parent enters court holding all the cards and leaves still holding them.

I should also mention that David is far more restrained than I would be. He never names the feminist ideology that I believe is the driving force behind this whole scandalous state of affairs.

Call for Action

Every episode of David Smith's podcast series ends with "The system must change. Children deserve better." And he spells out the questions we should all be asking of our members of parliament to make this happen. I urge you to listen to his podcasts and help them get the attention they deserve.

His work is a real inspiration and a significant public service.