Families Need Fathers say women make false allegations of abuse

[AssassinatedBeauty]

Has anyone else seen this article on the BBC News website?

"Thousands misusing abuse orders to get legal aid, says parenting charity" www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-44628179

It came up on my FB feed, and I was really surprised how the BBC have reported this, uncritically and without exploring whether the charity have any evidence for this opinion at all. Well, actually I think I'm not surprised at the BBC but just disappointed again.

Have you googled them? Clean as a whistle. Its as if the chose the results themselves.

I liked the links in the middle, and the way Women's Aid got several pertinent paragraphs at the end.

Some do, Some don't. Basically.

I can imagine that there is some grain of truth to this but that is because the government has withdrawn legal aid for family law other than where there are domestic abuse allegations and women therefore have no other option. The only reasonable solution is to reinstate legal aid- blame the government, not the women.

PeakPants But the government saves a lot of money by slashing the scope of legal aid - I think that's the solution they are most interested in

(btw I know that the judiciary claim that cases get dragged on and on by litigants in person - and the cost of court cases are rocketing - but the G are quids in)

Sawdust the court system is at breaking point. Serious human rights abuses against children are taking place because of excessive delays and lack of available representation. The cost of legal aid is pretty minimal compared to what it will cost the government if the court system collapses. Nearly all family cases now have at least one party unrepresented. Because all these cases are clogging up the courts, judges and cafcass officers struggle to deal with the more serious ones involving child abuse. Also, it means that serious issues that would otherwise have been spotted and raised by lawyers in the past will now go unnoticed because many self-representing litigants will not know it is relevant. The result is disastrous for all involved. The criminal legal aid system is also in crisis with lawyers going on strike and courts asking juvenile defendants to conduct their own defence because there is no available representation.

The amount legal aid lawyers get paid is pitiful enough as it is- most of them genuinely do it because they are good-hearted people who genuinely care.

I thought this story would at be at the top. Of the FWR thread... I think this article massively undermines the unseen abuse lots of women go through and will prevent lots of women trying to escape DV feeling like they'll be believed.

Yes it does. But I think the article makes the point that many women are pressured to apply for non-molestation orders that they wouldn’t otherwise have done, simply to get legal aid. Emotional abuse is horrific, but realistically, NMOs should only be used if there is a current and ongoing risk of violence or harassment. It is clear from the upsurge in applications that this is connected to the legal aid cuts. Applying for an NMO is no walk in the park and it’s clear that many women are desperate to secure funding and will do it for that. As I said before, the entire blame must lie with the government.

FNF can fuck off.

But at the same time, it’s another negative consequence of the Legal Aid restrictions that this will inevitably be said, and that women don’t get a completely free choice whether to formalise complaints about the DA that they have suffered.

I have a suspicion that actually, it's women reporting things that had they some other way to get legal support, they probably wouldn't but which are still abusive.

Looking back at my relationships before DP, each one had elements of control or abuse (hell, my one boyfriend raped me - and I stayed with him another 3 months because I had no-where else to live!) - but that I just walked away from rather than report. I think that if these women had any other choice, they, too, would choose to walk away - but they can't because they need support, and so they have to report things.

In other words, I think this is men finally being pulled up on behaviour that until now, they were getting away with because women just wanted to forget it, not that women are making up abuse.

The amount legal aid lawyers get paid is pitiful enough as it is- most of them genuinely do it because they are good-hearted people who genuinely care.

Yep, I used to be one but since LAPSO, I moved on. Don't miss those forms one little bit. Still do privately paying family work for both male and female clients, but family work isn't my main area anymore. I know of quite a few solicitors and barristers who were made redundant and packed it in.

In other words, I think this is men finally being pulled up on behaviour that until now, they were getting away with because women just wanted to forget it, not that women are making up abuse.

Some people's view on the world is very monochrome.