Susan Murphy-Milano...

The complaint details several cases where there was documented medical evidence of child sexual abuse, yet in each instance the identified abusing father was given full custody of the children he abused.  Several of the mothers were jailed by the courts because of their persistent efforts to protect their children from abuse.  Every single mother was denied contact with her child for some period of time, though none was ever proven to have harmed them.

Studies of gender bias in the courts, conducted in the 1980’s and 90’s, found disturbing trends of courts minimizing or excusing men’s violence against women, and favoring the abusers.  In 1990 the United States Congress passed a resolution recommending the prohibition of giving joint or sole custody to abusers.  Seventeen years later, the practice continues unabated.  Ten years ago today, leading national organizations were joined by members of Congress in a protest in Washington D.C. to again raise awareness about the problems in family courts.  Today, petitioners say, the problem is systemic and widespread in family law courts across the nation.

“For more than 30 years U.S. judges have given custody or unsupervised visitation of children to abusers and molesters putting the children directly at risk,” says Dianne Post, an international attorney who authored the petition.  “These horrendous human rights violations have been brought to the attention of family court systems, and state and federal governments, to no avail. We turn now to international courts to protect the rights and safety of U.S. children.”

The national organizations supporting the international complaint include: The Leadership Council on Child Abuse and Interpersonal Violence, National Organization for Women, National Organization for Women Foundation, National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Justice For Children, National Family Court Watch Project, Stop Family Violence, Family Violence Prevention Fund, National Alliance to End Sexual Violence, Sidran Institute, and the National Center on Sexual and Domestic Violence. The petition is supported by many state organizations as well.

In December 2005, the American Civil Liberties Union filed a petition against the United States with the Inter American Commission on Human Rights for their failure to protect Jessica Gonzales’ three children from their abusive father, who murdered them.  Their petition, the first of its kind, asserted that domestic violence victims have the right to be protected by the state from the violent acts of their abusers.

The petition and supporting documentation is available on the Stop Family Violence website www.StopFamilyViolence.org