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Relationships

Mumsnet has not checked the qualifications of anyone posting here. If you need help urgently or expert advice, please see our domestic violence webguide and/or relationships webguide. Many Mumsnetters experiencing domestic abuse have found this thread helpful: Listen up, everybody

DD desperately upset about Ex injunction -- what to do?

57 replies

thepeopleversuswork · 24/07/2019 22:04

My ex is subject to a non-molestation order after a long series of abusive stuff including fake suicide threats etc, culminating in a death threat earlier this year which was the final straw and which led to him being arrested and charged. I was granted the non-molestation order in May for a year. He has since breached the order, was charged and found guilty and was sentenced to community service etc.

Ex is allowed contact with my DD through a third party only (in this case my childminder, who has some previous experience of this and is totally reliable and trustworthy). Ex is constantly pushing my DD to get me to "allow" direct contact to take place (ie without the supervision of the childminder, which in practice means I would have to do a handover to him as there's no-one else who can). I've held firm on this until now even though my DD is applying lots of pressure to be allowed to see him. He's also done a lot of unhelpful and spiteful stuff such as making spurious allegations to social services about me.

Childminder is off on holiday and can't provide the support so there's currently no way for DD to see her dad for a couple of weeks. Technically the non-mol doesn't apply to me so there's nothing to stop me handing her over to him for an hour's contact and picking her up afterwards. I'm obviously loathe to do this, partly for my own security, partly because of the precedent it sets with him, and partly because my lawyer has advised me not to as it could undermine the injunction if anything happened in the future.

My DD had a meltdown this evening about pretty much everything and when I got to the bottom of it it was basically about wanting to see her dad. She phoned him and he knowing I was in the room in the background begged me to allow her to see him. My DD was then desperately desperately upset and railed at me for blocking her from seeing her dad.

I'm absolutely at my wits' end. I know allowing contact to happen is the wrong thing to do but I'm terrified of damaging my daughter -- she already thinks that I'm the bad guy and that I'm cruelly keeping her away from her dad. If I block contact again she will hate me forever.

Should I cave just this once and chaperone her to a meeting? Is there any way of moving this forward constructively? I can't see how I can justify doing this but I also can't live with the guilt of what its doing to her and seeing her so upset. I've always been absolutely determined for our relationship not to have an impact on her and for us to put her welfare over our own.

OP posts:
CarolDanvers · 25/07/2019 08:12

What a load of nonsense greeve, you seem to have read a different OP to the one everyone else is.

MarianaMoatedGrange · 25/07/2019 08:25

Greeve has been a GF on another thread I've read, where the OP is distressed by a partners actions.

Gingernaut · 25/07/2019 08:29

Manipulating your DD is emotional abuse of the poor girl.

You must stand firm.

Ignore Greeves and take heed of the very good advice you've been given by other postere.

Haffdonga · 25/07/2019 08:39

@Greeve Perhaps it would be helpful to point out a few simple facts for anyone who has limited comprehension skills.

  1. The OP is not stopping the father have contact with his dd . She has facilitated it through the childminder who is on holiday for only 2 weeks.
  2. The father has threatened to kill OP and there is an injunction stopping him have contact with her. It is dangerous for her to see him and would put him in a position of breaking a court order.
  3. It is the father's responsibility to organise appropriate contact with his dd not the OP's. There is nothing preventing him from doing this.
  4. It is never in a child's benefit to witness abuse between their parents. It is a parent's job to protect their dc as the OP is doing here.
  5. Blaming the victim of abuse rather than the abusive person for their lack of contact with dcs is the kind of warped thinking that keeps a lot of women back in violent and dangerous relationships.

Hope that helps.

Supersimpkin · 25/07/2019 08:48

Flowers OP, horrible situation to be the innocent victim in. Who is you, by the way.

DD's wishes don't trump your personal safety. I would be tempted to be a bit clearer about the risks you are under - go as far as you can without frightening her.

DD needs one good parent. Not giving in is how you deliver that.

thepeopleversuswork · 25/07/2019 11:41

Thanks everyone. I really appreciate all your advice.

OP posts:
llangennith · 25/07/2019 13:32

To the posters saying OP needs to facilitate contact - NO she doesn't and shouldn't. her ex is merely manipulating DD to harass OP.

Absolutely correct.

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