It’s an unpleasant reality that often gets buried in the legal system: victims of domestic violence who leave abusive partners are often again victimized during custody disputes. Now, Sharon K. Araji is bringing this overlooked problem to the forefront.
With the assistance of a faculty development grant, Araji, professor of sociology in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, is perfecting an educational video program focusing on contested custody and is developing training materials for organizations that deal with domestic violence.
“As a domestic violence educator, it was disappointing to learn in 2004 that in a large number of cases around the nation, domestic violence abusers were being given sole custody, joint custody or unsupervised visitation,” Araji says. “Legal, judicial and social service communities were contributing to these outcomes.”
Araji teamed with colleagues at the University of Alaska Anchorage in 2005 to conduct a survey on domestic violence and contested child custody.
“While collecting data it became clear, as a prevention effort, that there was a need to present this information in a format that the public – who does not read professional journals – could access,” she says.
The resulting video, Listening to Our Voices, has been well received and in high demand after being shown to the Pacific Sociological Association Conference in San Francisco, at UC Denver and at a conference in New York.
“Without exception, it has been very positively received. I was contacted by several agency personnel from the state to show the video and conduct workshops in their areas,” she says. “However, based on the evaluations, the educational value of the program can be improved through editing and the development of training materials.”
The video and training program – scheduled for completion in December 2008 – will benefit university students and academics as well as educate a wider audience that includes police, attorneys, judges, custody evaluators and shelters.
“Listen to Our Voices can serve as a prevention tool as more people become aware of the problem,” Araji says. “Such awareness also increases the likelihood that the issue will be defined as a social problem and social solutions will be developed at local, state, national and international levels.”
Check out the Domestic Violence Child Custody essay and/or statistical table