The future - http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/

To all,

This is an interesting new eJournal that's starting to have a real impact.
Graham Young its creator was on ABC yesterday.

The journal provides an effective way for everyday people to voice their concerns and raise the issues that they (us) see as important.
Instead of the political agenda being imposed on us, typically by vested interests with big PR budgets, and by the political parties for their own ends.

At last the internet appears to be delivering on its promise ...to wrest control of the media from the vested interests.

You can bet its being closely watched by the politicians during what has become one of the most cynical and contrived election campaigns we've ever seen.

Check it out. ...and have your say.
http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/

Please register your view as to what the most important issues to be addressed in this election campaign are.
You've been invited to do so!

I know what mine is - children ..their right to be free of the suffering imposed on them by the Family Courts and their mercenary practitioners, their right to the love and care of both their parents regardless of if they separate, so they can be everything they were meant to be in life. Otherwise what's the point of making anything else better? If our children's lives are blighted forever because we didn't protect them ... from loosing one of their parents to the Family Court, their practitioners and their goons.

Given that children represent our future, this eJourna; represents our opportunity to make politicians realise children are most important to most people.

Regards,
Simon Hunt
PARENTS AGAINST INSTITUTIONALISED CHILD ABUSE
Mornington
Phone: +61 (0)3 5973 6933
Mobile: 0414 415 693
vascopajama@dodo.com.au
http://mumsdadsandkidsagainstsolecust.blogspot.com/
http://thefamilycourtphenomenon.blogspot.com/
www.dashlite.com.au

"Protecting children from having one of their parents removed by the other upon separation".

NB: To be removed from the PARENTS AGAINST CHILD ABUSE email list please email me at vascopajama@dodo.com.au.

Roberston Cild Custody Case Videos

Roberston Cild Custody Case Videos Fri May 4, 2007 6:31 am (PST) I've posted two videos on YouTube of Channel Nine News Sydney and A Current Affair's coverage of the Murray Robertson "child abduction" Story that's been making news here in Australia over the past few Days. It's great to see a father's side of the story for a change. Greg Andresen http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6HudTNvXYZk http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKEuaSuMW9k

Also see Dr Warren Farrell recent Interviews.

Greg A. has sent the web addresses of two interviews (video) from Dr Warren Farrell which provide compelling arguments as to - not only why equal residency should be considered in cases where there is conflict between the parents, but that it is especially important in these cases.

"There is also a compelling reason why the existence of conflict between the parents, as distinct from abuse of the children, should actually be a positive reason to grant equal residency. In separations that have developed into two highly antagonistic camps, if one parent gets a vast majority of the time that 'majority of time' by itself tends to pull the child into that parents camp."

https://secure2.convio.net/acfc/media/video/2006nflrc/ka/ka-farrell.wmv

https://secure2.convio.net/acfc/media/video/2006nflrc/iv3/iv3-farrell.wmv

Geoff Holalnd. Cairns.Australia

No-contest system a good result

At last they're starting to understand the cause of the conflict that causes so much damage - the adversarial legal system.

The stats are as usual wildly inaccurate - oh well.

Looks like kids are going to get a better deal - shame about all those who've had their lives destroyed, and those dads under orders not to see there children etc.

Regards,
Simon
Phone: +61 (0)3 5973 6933
Mobile: 0414 415 693
vascopajama@dodo.com.au
http://mumsdadsandkidsagainstsolecust.blogspot.com/
http://thefamilycourtphenomenon.blogspot.com/

"The Age" - Melbourne

No-contest system a good result

http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/nocontest-system-a-good-result/2007/04/25/1177459786218.html

Karen Kissane
April 26, 2007

A REVOLUTIONARY new Family Court system to deal with disputes has resulted in happier children and parents, according to a Melbourne researcher.

The new process, in which parents talk directly to the judge and are encouraged to focus on their children's future, has been adopted for all child cases filed after July 1 last year. It can also be used by partners in property cases if they wish.

Jennifer McIntosh, associate professor of child psychology at La Trobe University and director of a divorce mediation clinic, found that parents who had gone through the new system argued less over sharing the children, and the children emerged happier than those whose cases were processed in the traditional, adversarial way.

"There was far more acceptance of the importance of both parents in the child's life and far more respectful communication going on between the parents, and fewer out-of-control moments," she said.

Professor McIntosh studied 38 families where disputes over children were settled under the adversarial system the court has used for most of its existence, in which parties oppose each other and speak through lawyers.

She compared them with 50 families who went through a pilot program in Sydney for a "less adversarial trial" in which the parents talked directly to the judge without having to worry about the rules of evidence.

In Sydney tomorrow, Family Court Chief Justice Diana Bryant will launch a report called Finding a Better Way, documenting this "bold departure from the traditional common-law approach".

Professor McIntosh found that fathers who had gone through the pilot program reported significantly more contact with their children: only 18 per cent rarely or never had overnight care, compared with 30 per cent of fathers in the old system. Twenty-one per cent of mothers in the old system had little or no overnight care compared with only 2 per cent in the new system.

Neither group was lavish in its praise of the court system, but more parents in the old system (70 per cent compared to 28 per cent) felt the process had a negative effect on them as parents.

Reported one father who had gone through the new system: "In regards to mother, instead of impulsively reacting to me, she listens now. I think she was listened to in there, so she could listen to me too."

Professor McIntosh said she was surprised to discover the most important "mechanism for change" was the way in which the judge gave parents a role model for thinking about the children first.

"Their capacity for thinking like parents was restored, and for some there was even an increased positive regard for the other partner. That's got to be a good outcome for children."

Three months after divorcing, the parents said their children were significantly happier than the parents in the old system.

They also had less conflict with their ex-partner and more positive views about how often the partner saw the children.

The view of the judge was positive for 69 per cent of parents, who used words such as "fair, supportive, wise, eased the confusion, listened, amazing". Ninety-two per cent of the group who had gone through the old system reported negatively on the judge: "Biased, unduly critical/harsh, unfair, naive, ignoring, omnipotent, inconsistent".

The study concluded: "A loss in judicial impartiality amounted to a clear gain for many parents, who were more often reached, moved and inspired by a judge who entered their struggle."

http://www.familycourt.gov.au

Unwanted pregnancies and abortions caused by domestic violence - The Melbourne Age today.

To all,

In case you were thinking its safe to go out.

A classic example of how induction (as opposed to deduction) is used to persecute.

No wonder so many think domestic violence is a problem only for women perpetrated by men !!

Could recognising that this is not true - that DV affects both genders equally (lets not worry about the slightly increased occurrence of female perpetrators) be a better way of tacking the problem?

Now I see why my letters get knocked back

Regards,
Simon
Phone: +61 (0)3 5973 6933
Mobile: 0414 415 693
vascopajama@dodo.com.au
http://mumsdadsandkidsagainstsolecust.blogspot.com/
http://thefamilycourtphenomenon.blogspot.com/

Abortion linked to domestic violence, study finds

Dewi Cooke
April 7, 2007

The Age

http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/abortion-linked-to-domestic-violence-study-finds/2007/04/06/1175366479425.html

THE long-lasting impact of violent relationships on women has been illustrated in research showing that young women abused by their partners are more than twice as likely to have an abortion as those who have not.

The data analysis, by La Trobe University researchers Angela Taft and Lyndsey Watson, found that partner violence is the most powerful factor in whether a young woman decides to terminate an unwanted pregnancy.

Published in this week's Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, the study also found women from poorer backgrounds were more likely to terminate their pregnancies.

"We didn't know what would come out but certainly it doesn't surprise us and people who are interested in the termination issue aren't aware of what a strong role (violence) plays," Dr Taft said.

The researchers found that women who reported recent violence of any kind were likely to have reported a termination, while women who had had a violent partner at some stage of their lives had significantly higher odds of having had an abortion.

Dr Taft said reducing violence against women was the key to reducing the number of unwanted pregnancies. "People providing pregnancy counselling and abortion providers should be asking about abuse, but I think that we see this as an issue of unwanted pregnancies and as I'm a public health researcher my argument would be there should be a sexual and reproductive health strategy at a national level with a focus on reducing unwanted pregnancies," she said.

"There's a whole raft of things that you'd want to consider there but certainly reducing violence against women should be a part of it."