(THIS POST ORIGINALLY MADE IN APRIL 1992 ON VFALSAC)
 
The name of the VFALSAC Echo stands for
"Victims of False Accusations", and although not officially associated with
the nationmal VOCAL organization, it is hoped to be consistent with the
viewpoints and goals of VOCAL. The VOCAL acronym stands for "Victims of Child 
Abuse Laws"; the organization serves the needs of parents and other adults 
whose children have been seized by the state on what those persons claim are 
FALSE allegations. Neither VOCAL nor this independent VFALSAC Echo seek to 
excuse genuine child abuse; the goals are:
    * Seeking fairness, justice and thorough inquiry in the Courts and in the 
agencies which deal with allegations of abuse.
    * Seeking screening and regulation of caseworkers and foster care
providers, and to root out those who actually harm children involved in false 
allegations by prematurely treating these children as if actual abuse had 
occurred.
    * Seeking legislative reform at local, state and national levels.
    * Providing self-help and group help to those falsely accused persons who 
are victimized by "the system".
    * Providing access to professionals and expert witnesses for use in
defending against false accusations.
    * Educating the public, legislators, law enforcement and judges.
    This Echo, it is hoped, will provide a forum on a topic which is often
shunned or hysterically attacked on other echos. As public awareness has
grown in recent years of the very real but often concealed problem of Child
Abuse and Spouse Abuse, there has also been an alarming trend toward FALSE
accusations, often in the context of an ongoing divorce or custody dispute.
    A "child abuse industry" exists which feeds on such false accusations;
government agencies such as Child Protective Services, Foster Homes, the
Psychologists and other professionals who work within the "system", the
Juvenile Courts. These supposed protectors of our children have a financial
and emotional stake in finding abuse, even when there is none; in keeping
children away from their parents and in the foster care system; in rewarding
one parent for a false accusation by cutting off the child's communication
with and access to the innocent, falsely accused parent. Some participants in
"the system" were abused as children and have an ax to grind, flailing out as 
if to punish the innocent along with the guilty.
   Sensational cases like the "McMartin Preschool" debacle in California and
the Morgan/Foretich custody battle are at last bringing to public
consciousness that not every child abuse allegation can be believed.
   Dr. Brian Yee, an Arizona psychologist, calls false allegations of abuse
"the nuclear weapon of custody battles."
   To be falsely accused is more than just a shame or a tragedy; it can ruin
one's life, and irreparably harm the child whom the system is supposed to
protect. For intact families, it may involve a three pronged attack:
Prosecution in the Criminal Court, seizure of the child by Child Protective
Services to be withheld in the foster care system and dealt with in the
Juvenile Courts, and breaking apart of the family, in Divorce Court.
   Defense against false allegations is enormously expensive. Defendants who
cannot afford counsel often find that court-appointed lawyers side with the
"system" and sell the defendant down the river, often urging a "plea bargain" 
admitting to something that never happened instead of risking draconian 
mandatory-sentences of five to twenty years.
   A person drawn into this situation usually believes that "justice" will
protect him or her; that "truth" will come out; that he or she is "innocent
until proven guilty." But these presumptions are lacking in laws passed
during a national hysteria, a witch-hunt for child abusers which claims the
right to suspend Constitutional protections in the name of "protect the child 
first, find out the truth later."
   A child can be taken and held at any time, without advance notice to its
parent, and without a court order. The procedures for extricating the child
are slow and often designed to fool the parent(s) into believing they will
get a speedy hearing, when delay and withholding communication are the
system's stock in trade.
   There are several Fidonet Echos populated by persons who were actually
victims of abuse. Some of these participants become irrational or angry when
faced with the sad fact that not all accusations are true. Some of them claim 
that "children never lie". Some actually believe that ALL men are rapists or 
sexual molesters of children. The kind of discussion which VFALSAC is 
intended to provide is not permitted, or tolerated, in these other echos.
   VFALSAC, unlike the therapeutic nature of the existing echos for actual
abuse victims, will not limit the scope or heat of the debate. It will
provide a forum; listings of resources; a way for those who are falsely
accused to realize that they are not alone. VFALSAC is is moderated by Bob
Hirschfeld, an attorney in Phoenix AZ whose law practice often defends
against false accusations of abuse.
 
--Bob Hirschfeld, Moderator VFALSAC
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