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Family Court Awareness Month (FCAM) was conceptualized in 2020 by Tina Swithin, founder and CEO of One Mom’s Battle.
A word from Tina Swithin:
“In our inaugural year 2020, our efforts involved a cross-county tour from Los Angeles, California to Raleigh, North Carolina with stops in seven major cities to meet with media, elected officials, domestic violence advocates, family court professionals, and survivors of post separation abuse and domestic violence. Those we met with found it unsettling to hear about the realities of the family court system, an unregulated industry that is perpetuating and giving life to cycles of abuse for future generations to come. A conservative estimate is that 58,000 children are ordered into unsupervised contact with physically or sexually abusive parents following divorce (Leadership Council on Child Abuse and Interpersonal Violence).
Our efforts in 2021 involve awareness at a community level through proclamations and resolutions secured by protective parents or advocates who have been affected by the family court system’s shortcomings and failures. Mayors and elected officials around the country have pledged their support while officially declaring November as Family Court Awareness Month in their respective communities. A total of 220 cities and counties along with eight states (Maryland, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Idaho, Illinois, New Hampshire, West Virginia and Texas) have publicly proclaimed their support of our efforts and/or issued resolutions to solidify their commitment to child safety in the family court system.
Download our 2020 press release here.
Download our September 2021 press release here.
Download our November 1, 2021 press release here.
What does the research say?
Abusive parents are more likely to seek sole custody than nonviolent ones and they are successful about 70% of the time.
Source: American Psychological Association, Violence And The Family: Report Of The American Psychological Association Presidential Task Force On Violence And The Family, (1996).
Studies have found that evaluators failed to recommend protective measures for children even when abuse allegations were substantiated.
Source: Michael Davis, Chris O’Sullivan, Kim Susser & Marjory Fields, Custody Evaluations when there are Allegations of Domestic Violence: Practices, Beliefs and Recommendations of Professional Evaluators (2011).
An examination of protracted family law disputes reveals a profoundly dysfunctional subset of cases involving individuals whose propensity to seek, rather than avoid, conflict is met by an adversarial system that seems to facilitate ongoing conflict.
Source: Rosenfeld, Esther, Michelle Oberman, Jordan Bernard, and Erika Lee. 2019. “Confronting the Challenge of the High-Conflict Personality in Family Court.” Family Law Quarterly: 79-118
Working on a story about Family Court Awareness Month? In need of photographs, logos and graphics?
Members of the press can email tina@familycourtawarenessmonth.org for media inquiries or to request an interview.