I've written and spoken many times about the terrible problem of false accusations of domestic violence or child sexual abuse in a divorce. These accusations are usually (though not always) made by women against men, sometimes as custody maneuvers, sometimes just out of vindictiveness. To learn more, click here and here. (There are, of course, times when a woman genuinely believes that her ex-husband has molested the children and she makes a good faith report of it--that's not what we’re talking about here).

The American Coalition for Fathers and Children’s West Virginia affiliate Men Against Discrimination is doing something about it by offering a $10,000 reward for "reporting a story that results in a successful prosecution of or a removal of custody from someone making a 'false claim' in court. " Above is a billboard about the program, here is a radio advertisement for it and below is their press release. 

Perhaps the most amazing thing about it is how rare a bird this is--the legal system actually prosecuting a woman for this terribly destructive and all-too-common act. 

The radio spot is done from the perspective of a grandmother who has lost her grandkids due to her ex-daughter-in-law's family court machinations against her son. I often hear from grandmas in this situation, and they're a group that needs to be heard more in this debate.

MEN AGAINST DISCRIMINATION LAUNCHES $10,000 REWARD PROGRAM

Men Against Discrimination, a West Virginia-based group of men and women organized to protect children’s access to both parents, launched a new and innovative approach to solving the backlog of court cases in family court here. At a press conference held at the State Capitol early this afternoon, State Director Tim Fittro and Regional Coordinator Ron Foster revealed the details of the plan, which offers a $10,000 reward to help stop “false claims” of child abuse, sexual abuse and domestic violence.

Some people in West Virginia are calling for more judges to combat the rising number of cases that are heard in the 26 Family Court Circuits. According to statistics provided to the group by the West Virginia Supreme Court Director of Family Court Services, Lisa Tackett, during the last 4 years reported, divorce cases have increased an alarming 8% while domestic relations cases have increased a whopping 24%. Men Against Discrimination believes much of this increase can be attributed to “false claims” of child abuse, sexual abuse and domestic violence.  According to the group, false claims are made in an effort by the accuser to obtain sole custody and push the other parent out of the child’s life.  The child becomes a pawn and a prize with the added bonus of monetary compensation in the form of child support and control of the non-custodial parent through the visitation arrangement.  Studies have shown that “false claims” occur in as many as 67-75% of all contested divorce and custody cases.

Men Against Discrimination is trying to curb this epidemic that is both destroying children and families and increasing the workload of family court judges and law enforcement agencies.  It is important that penalties be imposed on those who abuse the system. “That is why we are offering the $10,000 reward for reporting a story that results in a successful prosecution of or a removal of custody from someone making a “false claim” in court.  Fittro and Foster said, “We believe that the only way to curb the tactical use of ‘false claims’ is to push for a few highly publicized cases that backfire on the accuser.” When prosecutors start going after those who attempt to gain advantage through lies, then attorneys and clients will be much less likely to use those tactics.  MAD is currently pushing the legislature for strict penalties for those who willingly use “false claims” for their own personal gain.

For more information and complete rules on the program, please visit www.menagainstdiscrimination.org. Contacts: Ron Foster at 304-206-7901 or Tim Fittro at 304-295-0053 or 304-615-4958, Charleston, West Virginia

This entry was posted on Saturday, March 24th, 2007 at 1:02 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can trackback from your own site.