News Summary

Custody disputes prompt many civil protection orders

I have been a family law attorney in the Miami Valley for 16 years. I read the Other Voices column concerning domestic violence ("Misconceptions slow progress in reducing domestic violence," July 2) and felt compelled to respond.

There is a huge difference between domestic violence and the civil protection orders designed to protect against domestic violence.

Cases of "true" domestic violence occur when the victims, typically women, suffer grave injury.

I have encountered fewer than a dozen "true" domestic violence victims in my long practice.

Criminal prosecution typically results in these cases.

On the other hand, Ex Parte Civil Protection Orders are issued freely for the asking and all too often result from either an effort by one parent to gain an edge in a custody dispute or verbal threats made in the heat of the moment.

If a household member accuses you of making a threat against them, you can be put out of your home and not allowed to see your children while hearings are scheduled and completed.

Months can pass while the matter is sorted out, and there is no recourse for lost time with children or the expense of living out of the house, even if the allegations are unfounded.

The vast majority of cases that I see in my practice involve civil protection orders obtained by one parent at the start of a custody dispute.

Public awareness of domestic violence is now such that victims of true domestic violence receive the assistance of the court system and social services.

The public perception of domestic violence seems to be that every case involves the dramatic, violent life portrayed by Farrah Fawcett in "The Burning Bed."

Unfortunately, the need to separate the true victims from the true manipulators has not yet reached the public consciousness.

Anne Catherine Harvey

Oakwood