Q&A: Was no-fault divorce the beginning of the end?

Question by Samuel Cameron: Was no-fault divorce the beginning of the end? This writer seems to think so. What do you think? http://www.touchstonemag.com/archives/article.php?id=22-01-019-f Interesting quote: "Yet patently false accusations of both child abuse and domestic violence are rampant in divorce courts, almost always for purposes of breaking up families, securing child custody, and eliminating fathers. "With child abuse and spouse abuse you don't have to prove anything," the leader of a legal seminar tells divorcing mothers, according to the Chicago Tribune. "You just have to accuse." Among scholars and legal practitioners it is common knowledge that patently trumped-up accusations are routinely used, and virtually never punished, in divorce and custody proceedings. Elaine Epstein, president of the Massachusetts Women's Bar Association, writes that "allegations of abuse are now used for tactical advantage" in custody cases. The Illinois Bar Journal describes how abuse accusations readily "become part of the gamesmanship of divorce." The UMKC Law Review reports on a survey of judges and attorneys revealing that disregard for due process and allegations of domestic violence are used as a "litigation strategy." In the Yale Law Review, Jeannie Suk calls domestic violence accusations a system of "state-imposed de facto divorce" and documents how courts use unsupported accusations to justify evicting Americans from their homes and children. The multi-billion dollar abuse industry has become "an area of law mired in intellectual dishonesty and injustice" writes David Heleniak in the Rutgers Law Review. Domestic violence has become "a backwater of tautological pseudo-theory," write Donald Dutton and Kenneth Corvo in the scholarly journal Aggression and Violent Behavior. "No other area of established social welfare, criminal justice, public health, or behavioral intervention has such weak evidence in support of mandated practice." Feminists confess as much in their vociferous opposition to divorce reform. A special issue of the feminist magazine Mother Jones in 2005 ostensibly devoted to domestic violence focuses largely on securing child custody. Both child abuse and domestic violence have no precise definitions. Legally they are not adjudicated as violent assault, and accused parents do not enjoy the constitutional protections of criminal defendants. Allegations are "confirmed" not by jury trials but by judges or social workers. Domestic violence is any conflict within an "intimate relationship" and need not be actually violent or even physical. Official definitions include "extreme jealousy and possessiveness," "name calling and constant criticizing," and "ignoring, dismissing, or ridiculing the victim's needs." For such "crimes" fathers lose their children and can be jailed. "Protective orders" separating parents from their children are readily issued during divorce proceedings, usually without any evidence of wrongdoing. "Restraining orders and orders to vacate are granted to virtually all who apply," and "the facts have become irrelevant," writes Epstein. "In virtually all cases, no notice, meaningful hearing, or impartial weighing of evidence is to be had." Rebecca, Thanks for your balanced, principled answer. Best answer:

Answer by Sunshine
No fault divorces inherently mean neither parent is accused of anything, they both agree to the terms of the divorce. So your attempt to paint men as the victims in this is ridiculous. They agree to no fault divorces because they don't want the hassle of a long drawn out court battle anymore than anyone else.

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