In Chapter 23 I outlined the various player in “The Family Separation Industry” and how the industry contributes to the disgraceful outcomes for parents and children. I also outlined the case of S- and the years of mistreatment of the infant facilitated by the social workers.
Unfortunately, I had to close the book at a certain time frame or it would never be finished as changes are always in the wind. I did get the permission of S- to use his story and then got an update during the publication process that I thought I would share.
It was some time after S- got sole parental responsibility and custody awarded to him that the mother reappeared on the scene. S- had never wanted to deny the mother being part of the child’s life and while he could have, he did not.
When it comes to school and the child’s future, they discuss matters, she visits and is involved with the child whenever she desires and parents get along and S- keeps them both focussed on the child when they meet. According to S-, if she pulls any stunts such as false accusation of child abuse or anything else, she knows he will take it back to court and the full force of the court will come down on her and the outcomes would not be good for her. In short, enforcing the law had the desired effect of stopping her trying to misuse the law to gain advantage. Enforcing the law effectively disarmed her but the enforcement of the law seems rare. As S- is still largely managing the situation, the child is growing up and doing well at school and enjoys a relationship with both the parents.
If I look at the case from a logical perspective, then
- should the departments assessment not have been full of bias,
- matters were investigated properly and
- presented to the judiciary
then the trauma that the everyone suffered would have been almost eliminated. Like Nellie, I am convinced the perpetrators also suffer emotionally and financially in addition to the other family members including children, that they target or use. As with S- if the proper steps were taken, the child of S- may be well ahead of where it is now, both emotionally and academically and this applies to most cases.
In marketing and business analysis we talk about “Customer Touch points”, which is the points a client touches that influences their purchasing decision. We look at each touch point to ensure customer satisfaction to when they are happy with each touch point it often results in the purchase of the product. Unfortunately, as outlined in “The Pinball Machine The Family Separation Industry and Parental Alienation” every touch point needs reform and focussing on one is a diversion from a systems approach. Hopefully this will happen in the near future (assisted by the Joint Select Committee on Australia’s Family Law System) so that there will be better outcomes for children and families.