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Why the Government is wrong about shared parenting legislation

My experience of the family courts has been as a litigant. From my viewpoint it is rather silly to raise the issue of the change in terminology from custody to residence and access to contact. All of these words are ugly and inappropriate to describe parent/child relationships - access and contact are particularly demeaning. It isn't any surprise that the general public hasn't picked up on residence and contact as they never contributed to greater understanding or added any clarification to meaning. In her final paragraph, Zoe raises concerns that sharing parenting will add a weapon to domestic abusers. As someone who has experienced domestic violence, I would take a different view. Domestic violence is about one person gaining and abusing power and control over another. It is not about sharing. The family court's habit of handing almost complete power and control to one parent or the other encourages abusers to fight for control and use the courts as a weapon. In my case, once I had been awarded 50/50 shared residence (I used the right word Zoe!) the abuser virtually walked away since their control had been lost. I now have full residence but do my utmost to nurture the best posible relationship between my child and the other parent. So I don't agree with Zoe - I think that a change in emphasis to 'shared parenting' and a 'meaningful relationship with both parents' is a positive step. One that is more respectful to children than treating them as the property of one parent only. I apologise but I'm sure you will understand that I have to post this comment anonymously.

13-Mar-2012

12:46 pm