Domestic Violence, Contested Custody, and the Courts: A Review of Findings from Five Studies with Accompanying Documentary

Abstract

In keeping with the 2011 PSA meeting's theme, “Sociologists as Claims Makers: Turning Theory Into Action,” the presidential address reported research findings (scientific sociology) that were accompanied by a documentary that represented the research results (applied sociology). Guided by a social constructionist perspective, findings from five studies were organized into seven themes to demonstrate the problems domestic violence victims, or protective parents, encounter when their abusers entangle them in contested custody battles. The documentary shown in the presidential address can be viewed in this article by connecting to a link provided. It is noted that the focus of the research and documentary remain at the social issue level—a phenomenon that exists in society, but has not yet been defined as a social problem. It is argued that the problems identified in the research are affecting many thousands of domestic violence victims and their children, yet the issue has received minimal attention in the discipline of sociology.

Family Mediation in Child Custody Cases and the Concealment of Domestic Violence

“…Overall, the results depicted a general picture where men's violence toward women and children was hidden, through different tactics of concealment (Bandura et al, 1996;Romito, 2008). Professionals failed to identify and name domestic violence, and labeled it as conflicts, which is consistent with the results of other international studies in this area (e.g., Araji & Bosek, 2010;Saunders et al, 2015). The "parental couple" was dissociated from the "marital couple," and mediation was therefore applied as a rule, ignoring the violence and assuming that it is not a parenting issue.…”

“…In court proceedings, the reality of living with coercively controlling violence and the potential ongoing risks it poses to children and nonabusive parents are typically negated (Jeffries, 2016). There are still important difficulties among professionals in social and legal services with regard to the identification of domestic violence, which is often mislabeled as "conflicts" between partners (Araji & Bosek, 2010;Johnson, Saccuzzo, & Koen, 2005;Pirrone, 2017;Saunders, Faller, & Tolman, 2015). In this context, postseparation violence and its longlasting effects are ignored and have therefore no bearing on custody decisions (Bancroft & Silverman, 2002;Haselschwerdt, Hardesty, & Hans, 2011).…”

“No Contact, Except . . .”

“…Increasingly, literature on parenting and IPA focuses explicitly on full custody and visitation hearings or on divorce proceedings (Araji & Bosek, 2010; Hannah & Goldstein, 2010; Kernic, Monary-Ernsdorff, Koepsell, & Holt, 2005; Levin & Mills, 2003; Morrill, Dai, Dunn, Sung, & Smith, 2005; Rosen & O’Sullivan, 2005) to understand factors related to custody decisions and visitation conditions when the father has been violent. Visitation and custody hearings can take months, however.…”

“…Despite legislation requiring judges to account for IPA in their decisions, men who batter are still granted visitation and even custody (Araji & Bosek, 2010; Hannah & Goldstein, 2010; Jaffe, Lemon, & Poisson, 2003; Kernic et al, 2005). For instance, Kernic and colleagues (2005) examined court records of visitation and custody decisions when there were substantiated allegations of IPA, unsubstantiated allegations of IPA, and no history of IPA.…”

Research Based Recommendations for Child Custody Evaluation Practices and Policies in Cases of Intimate Partner Violence

“…As in many other professional contexts, detection of abuse has been a major problem in the context of custody evaluations. In many custody-visitation proceedings, professionals fail to detect IPV (e.g., Araji & Bosek, 2010;Davis et al, 2011;N. E. Johnson, Saccuzzo, & Koen, 2005;Kernic et al, 2005;Voices of Women, 2008).…”