Beyond the Hostage Child: Towards Empowering Protective Parents

For the past three decades, the awareness of dysfunction in our nation's family courts has been growing steadily, documented in books, films, and scholarly research. The most vulnerable victims of this dysfunction are children alleging abuse by one parent in the context of family dissolution. These children are frequently ordered into the sole custody of their named abusers and may even be denied all contact with their protective parents. This phenomenon has proved amazingly resistant to change despite growing outcries by victims, advocates and professionals. Although this remains primarily a state court problem, this book takes the position that change is possible through federal leadership, and outlines specific actions that the federal government can take to bring about meaningful resolution to the problem and keep our nation's children safe.