Men's Equality

The disparity between treatment of men and women, respectively, in the family and domestic violence courts is an emerging social and legal issue that is commanding more attention and generating heightened controversy. Although public policy has the appearance of intended equality, application of the law appears to conflict with its intention. Moreover, the Domestic Violence industry remains prolific and viable even though the Women’s Movement has changed the United States’ social climate dramatically over the past several decades. There exists an argument that the Women’s Movement may be in a responsive pendulum effect, overcompensating for years of oppression and inequality, and needs to move back toward middle ground. The pendulum effect, itself, may be victimizing men in family courts and matters of alleged domestic abuse. In child custody decisions, a mother has a great inherent advantage; a father is generally not considered as primary custodian absent a determination of unfitness of the mother, even though equal consideration is afforded to the parents under the law. Mothers are more likely than anyone else to abuse and murder children, yet fathers are significantly less likely to be awarded primary custody. State statutes still have gender-specific language pertaining to domestic abuse, arising from the assumption that males are the aggressors toward females, yet non-reciprocal domestic violence is directed toward males in 70.5% of the cases.