False accusation in family law cases

Sunday March 20th 2005


Sir - John Fitzgerald is to be complimented on highlighting the plight
of those who are falsely accused of abuse (letters, 13th March 2005).

While his letter deals with those who are falsely accused of abuse in
residential institutions there are many other circumstances in which
people, especially men, are falsely accused.

In family law cases, false allegations of child abuse and especially
domestic violence are now commonplace and are accepted by those working
in this area as a legitimate tactic. In the unnecessarily adversarial
family law system, the temptation to resort to such despicable tactics
is increased by the knowledge that, even when the allegations are
proven to be false and malicious, no penalties are imposed on the
guilty parties.

If the penalties matched the crime there would be fewer false
allegations. There is also the fact, as pointed out by Mr Fitzgerald,
that in these cases the accused person is deemed to be guilty until
proven innocent - a virtually impossible task in most cases. Those who
contact Amen say that, because these accusations are dealt with under
civil law, they are denied the safeguards available to those who are
accused of crimes.

These allegations have a devastating effect on innocent men and their
families and leave them deeply traumatised. Even if they succeed in
proving their innocence, the ordeal causes long-term damage to them
and, in many cases, their children.

It is time all forms of false allegations were criminalised and
appropriate penalties provided for those who use these dastardly
tactics, usually to achieve advantage in family disputes or simply for
monetary gain.

Mary T Cleary,
Amen,
Navan.



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