Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Brandon Muir Sentence

Robert Cunningham convicted of killing Brandon Muir earlier this month ( see this post) has been jailed in Glasgow today for 10 years.

Urging the judge to be careful when considering a critical social inquiry report on Cunningham as the social work department "were not a disinterested party in this case" Ian Duguid QC, told the judge that his client did not mean to harm Brandon.

In his statement Judge John Morris told Cunningham "Your assault upon him was sufficient to rupture his internal organs and must have caused him considerable pain."

"Such an act of wanton violence against an innocent child, aggravated as it was by your failure to obtain medical assistance for him knowing what you had done must be marked with a substantialprison sentence."

Full story Source The Herald 31 March 2009

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Monday, March 30, 2009

Fathers ‘must be given more paternity leave’

A radical change to parental leave arrangements was needed to make sure that fathers and lower-income parents took advantage of their rights, a new report urged today.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission said fathers should be given more leave and there should be more sharing of time off between parents.

Full story Source The Herald 30 March 2009

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Sunday, March 29, 2009

March Blog Highlights

Jonathan Mitchell QC : Google Street View and the law
Following suggestions that Google Street View which was launched in Scotland earlier this month is illegal Jonathan examines the legal issues. His conclusion is bad news for cheating spouses (or any miscreant) caught on camera as there is no authority to support the notion that photographing ordinary street scenes is unlawful.


Family Lore: Brave new world
In a speech to the family lawyers organistation in England & Wales Resolution Mr Justice Andrew McFarlane said new plans to open family courts to the media do not go far enough. The press release is here.

Family Lore: Resolution calls for no-fault divorce
Resolution called for a radical overhaul of divorce laws at it's national conference by asking the government to help take the blame out of divorce and separation by introducing no-blame divorce. It was also said the government "should commit to undertaking a thorough review of family law so that couples can be clearer from the outset about how their finances will be divided." The press release is available here.


Marilyn Stowe
: Financial Dispute Resolution – look out for these stumbling blocks
In 2006 new cost rules were introduced in England & Wales for ancillary relief (the court procedure for resolving financial matters) requiring each party to pay their own costs. Marilyn Stowe has noticed a trend with the new rules being used as a weapon to force one party into accepting an offer, because they are worried about mounting legal cost.

Marilyn Stowe: Mesher Orders and Martin Orders: What You Need To Know
In England & Wales Mesher & Martin orders are sometimes used to defer the sale of the former matrimonial home to enable one party (usually the wife) to temporarily remain living there whilst the other party maintains an interest in the property in the form of a chargeback. This can be fraught with problems when the time comes to sell the house, leaving the person who remained in the former matrimonial home unable to afford to buy another property.


Pink Tape: Three posts about the impact of the government’s latest round of proposed cuts in legal aid in England & Wales on vulnerable families and children here, here and here.


Judith's Divorce Blog
Interesting posts about the recession, not intervening in others marital relations and winning in Judith's unique style


Los Angeles Divorce and Family Law: International Divorce
An article from the The Economist. Thanks to John Bolch of Family Lore Focus for the tip off.

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Science Isn't Wrong

... It's what you do with it that counts.

According to recent media headlines, ethanol derived from biomass is a ‘Frankenstein Fuel’, human DNA inserted into a cow’s egg delivers ‘Frankenstein’s Monster’, and even the sub-prime mortgage disaster is a consequence of ‘Frankenstein Finance’. E&T asks: what exactly does this much-abused journalistic cliché mean?

Full Story Source Engineering & Technology 18 March 2009

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Saturday, March 28, 2009

In Support of Marriage

Call me romantic but despite it being 10 years since I separated from my ex husband and having no intentions of remarrying in the near future I am a great believer in marriage. There is nothing wrong with cohabitation, it just isn't the same thing. The Top Ten Myths of Marriage by Warren R. Shiell of Los Angeles Divorce and Family Law outlines some of the reasons why.

"Both men and women live longer, happier, healthier and wealthier lives when they are married. Husbands typically gain greater health benefits while wives gain greater financial advantages"

"Many studies have found that those who live together before marriage have less satisfying marriages and a considerably higher chance of eventually breaking up."

"..... there may be less motivation for cohabiting partners to develop their conflict resolution and support skills."

"married people have both more and better sex than do their unmarried counterparts. Not only do they have sex more often but they enjoy it more, both physically and emotionally."

"Cohabitation typically does not bring the benefits—in physical health, wealth, and emotional wellbeing—that marriage does. In terms of these benefits cohabitants in the United States more closely resemble singles than married couples. This is due, in part, to the fact that cohabitants tend not to be as committed as married couples, and they are more oriented toward their own personal autonomy and less to the wellbeing of their partner."


Thanks to John Bolch of Family Lore Focus for providing the link to this post.

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Legal Aid Eligibility Increase

The Scottish Legal Aid Board has recently written a letter to all civil legal aid solicitors to remind them that as of 7 April 2009 the upper limit for disposable income to be eligible for legal aid will increase and a tapered system of contributions will be introduced.

...those with a higher disposable income will pay a higher rate of contribution towards any grant of civil legal aid. The tapered system of contributions will be in four bands where disposable income is:

• Nil to £3,355 (current limit £3,156) – no contribution from income to pay

• £3,356 to £10,995 (current limit £10,306) – 33% of income in that range

• £10,996 - £15,000 - 50% of income in that range

• £15,001 - £25,000 - 100% of income in that range

For example, if someone’s total disposable income was £14,000, the contribution would be £ 4022.87 – this is calculated as 33% of (£10,995 minus £3,356) plus 50% of (£14,000 minus £10,996).

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Friday, March 27, 2009

How To Manage Your Lawyer

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Thursday, March 26, 2009

Domestic Abuse Task Force

The formation of the Domestic Abuse Task Force to tackle persistent and dangerous offenders in Scotland was announced by Strathclyde police today. Police are to collect information and use multi-agency intelligence to catch re-offenders. They will also enforce court-imposed curfews, bail orders and warrants. Chief constable Stephen House said the amount of domestic violence taking place in Strathclyde is "horrendous" -

10 domestic abuse-related deaths

23 attempted murders

209 serious assaults

35 rapes

89 instances of threats, extortion or abduction

1,609 bail offences.

Full story Source The Herald 26 March 2009

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Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Money Box


Following an earlier programme answering questions about mediation, the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission, splitting assets, benefits and pensions BBC Radio 4's Money Box progamme took more calls earlier today on divorce and separation.

As well as John Fotheringham, consultant in family law at Fyfe Ireland, this time the panel included Jane Craig, family partner at Manches, and Kirsty Marshall, senior advice worker at Gingerbread.

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Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Lawyers Repay £1.6m in Crackdown on Legal Aid

Lawyers in Scotland have been forced to repay £1.6 million in wrongly claimed legal aid over the past six years.
An investigation by The Scotsman reveals that the number of solicitors and legal firms investigated for apparent legal aid irregularities has increased by 50 per cent in that time.


Full story Source The Scotsman 24 March 2009

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Saturday, March 21, 2009

A Policeman's Lot is Not a Married One

The pressure of fighting crime in the west of Scotland appears to be taking its toll on the love lives of the area's police officers.

Figures reveal that Strathclyde Police has the highest rate of unmarried bobbies of any force in the country. Of the largest force's 7,955 police officers, 4,357 of them are listed as unmarried.

Full story Source The Scotsman 21 March 2009

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Miscarriage of Justice

As this post of mine highlights Scotland's rape laws are among the most restrictive in the world. From 922 allegations of rape made to police only 27 resulted in conviction during 2006/2007 and there is a review of the way rapes are prosecuted to improve conviction rates and the treatment of victims underway.

However, the quashing of Sean Hodgson's sentence in London earlier this week is a reminder that less restrictive laws may lead to miscarriages of justice. Convicted of rape and murder Sean Hodgson served 27 years after confessing to the crimes. New DNA evidence showed that he could not have been the murderer and his lawyers argued that he was a pathological liar and that the confessions were false.

Full story Source The Telegraph 18 March 2009

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Domestic Violence Surges After Old Firm Games

Domestic violence surges after Old Firm games, police revealed today.

A senior officer said reports of such abuse jumped by 88% following last Sunday's cup final clash between Celtic and Rangers.

Assistant Chief Constable John Neilson, of Strathclyde Police, said the force arrested more than 550 people on the day of the match - all of whom were drunk.

Full story Source The Scotsman 21 March 2009

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Thursday, March 19, 2009

Divorce North & South of the Border

Thanks to John Bolch of Family Focus for pointing out a story in The Times this morning comparing the differences between divorce settlements in Scotland and England & Wales.

Taking the scenario of a couple with assets of £10m and eligible to divorce in either jurisdiction it is figured that a husband would be considerably worse off divorcing in England than Scotland. In other circumstances the wife would be better off issuing in Scotland. - "Food for thought as to whether legislation to introduce a more streamlined system could be brought in across the UK."

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Protesting Fathers

Even though Fathers 4 Justice suspended direct action about 6 months ago two fathers' rights protesters were arrested yesterday after attempting to get on to the runway at Heathrow Airport according to a report in The Herald. Matt O'Connor, founder of F4J, said "It will be Fathers 4 Justice protesters. I understand it is part of a series of protests." The men are thought to be part of a splinter group of the organisation.

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Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Devious Husbands

It is amazing the lengths some people go to in order to defeat their spouse's claim to financial provision on divorce. The Scotsman today reports the dismissal of an appeal against a ruling annulling a husband's bankruptcy and ordering him to pay a £1m lump sum to his former wife.

William Paulin issued proceedings for a bankruptcy order to be made against himself when confronted with his wife's application for financial relief. This resulted in the divorce court being unable to order a settlement and the wife having to apply for the bankruptcy to be annulled.

After accepting the wife's evidence that her husband had issued threats that were she to take him to court, he would hide his assets and ensure that she got nothing and he had substantial undisclosed assets Lord Justice Wilson condemned devious husbands.

The judgment is here.

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Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Lawyer on the Razzle

I mentioned in this earlier post in some quarters there are concerns about the independence and secrecy of the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission that was launched in October last year. On Sunday the Sunday Mail printed an article regarding leaked emails from Margaret Scanlan, divorce lawyer and member of the SLCC, who wrote "Was out on the razzle, again, last night so bit cross-eyed this morning. Please excuse any consequent gibberish." in one email. In another regarding the organisation Scotland Against Crooked Lawyers Scanlon said;

"I would prefer that we not give any recognition to SACL. I do not see why we have to name them even if we are bound to engage with them."

"Their website is offensive and so far as I am aware no reputable organisations has anything to do with them"

Now it might not be the wisest thing to email about being on the "razzle" and being a "bit crossed eyed" or writing "gibberish" but, come on, is this is all the media can come up with?

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Monday, March 16, 2009

Learning Lessons the Hard Way

Reuter's COLUMN-Divorce marked to market comments on the rise and fall of senior executives and financiers in the UK, their wives and divorces. Brian Myerson, told the Court of Appeal in England last week that his wealth had been so badly hit by the recession that he could not afford £9.5m he owed his ex-wife from a divorce settlement.

The Myerson's led a lifestyle common among the rich where one party, usually the husband, makes all the money and are absent whilst the other, usually the wife, supports the high earning spouse husband and keep the family on the go. However, this ignores the basic investment rule of not putting all your eggs in one basket and has left families worth less than nothing.

The article suggests the wives should have known better and could learn a lesson from working class women who used to keep "running away money" in a jar for a rainy day. It would have been prudent to have taken an interest in the finances, reined in their husbands' borrowing, and perhaps for the wives to have kept the job.

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Saturday, March 14, 2009

Free to Collect

"Nagging Wife. No Tax, No MOT. Very high maintenance - some rust."

This was a story in The Herald about a builder who got so fed up with his wife's nagging that he advertised her in the Free to Collect section of a trade magazine. Apparently at least nine or 10 people replied. His wife Donna said "I don't think I do nag him. He just doesn't do what I want him to, that's all." And they only married last June!

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Friday, March 13, 2009

Scots Reaction to Lamming

Lord Lamming's report into child protection services in England ordered after the conclusion of the Baby P case was welcomed by Scottish ministers last night. Scottish Education Secretary Fiona Hyslop was quoted by The Herald;

"Scotland already has the most robust child protection inspection regime in the UK, allowing problems to be identified quickly and action taken immediately.

"We have only just had sight of this report and, although it is concerned with England's child protection structures which are different to Scotland's, we will of course consider whether there are any implications for Scotland as we continue to ensure stringent safeguards are in place for vulnerable children."

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Solicitor Advocates Clash

The Dean of the Faculty of Advocates, Richard Keen QC, has called on the Law Society of Scotland to face up to its responsibility for regulating solicitor advocates. Solicitor advocates are lawyers qualified to represent clients as an advocate in higher courts in England, Wales and in Scotland, the Supreme Court and High Court and last month Lord Justice Clerk Gill criticised the conduct of solicitor advocates in an appeal decision. Mr Keen said a government appointed review of rights of audience in the higher courts was "an abdication of its statutory responsibility for regulating solicitor advocates."

According to The Journal here the Society believe that after almost 20 years it is time for an independent, comprehensive review of rights of audience in the higher courts

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Thursday, March 12, 2009

Divorces Drop by 25%

Provisional figures from the General Register Office for Scotland today showed the number of couples who divorced in 2008 fell from 12,773 in 2007 to 9,333 last year - a drop of more than a quarter. However, because of the change in the law in 2006, which reduced the separation period for couples who are divorcing there was an increase in the number of divorces in 2006. The number dropping after then and the average number of divorces over 2006 to 2008 was about 11,700 a year, which was in line with the figures before the change in the law.

Marriages dropped from 29,866 in 2007 to 28,903 and the figures also show an increase in births to 60,041, 50.1% to unmarried parents.

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Flogging - 75 Year Old Widow

Men and women who are not immediate relatives are prohibited from 'mingling' in Saudi Arabia and on Tuesday The Independent reported the shocking story of a 75 year old widow being sentenced to a flogging. Khamisa Sawadi, who is Syrian but was married to a Saudi and lives in Saudi Arabia, was convicted and sentenced to 40 lashes last week for meeting with men who were not her immediate relatives.

Her crime was 'mingling' with two young men after she asked them to bring her loaves of bread. The men, a the nephew and his friend and business partner, were arrested by the religious police after delivering the bread to Mrs Sawadi's home.

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Wednesday, March 11, 2009

International Women's Day

Last Sunday was International Women's Day and the BBC reported the reaction of politicians in Scotland.

Following recent other initiatives I mentioned here and here Scottish Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon vowed to tackle domestic abuse and said £44m had been committed to tackle the problem.

Scots Tory leader Annabel Goldie called on Scotland's political leaders to put family back at the top of the agenda and have the debate about how to put family back at the heart of society and how to support families.

Harriet Harman, rather strangely I thought or maybe it was the way it was reported, told delegates at Scottish Labour's annual conference that bank bosses topped the list of treating female employees unfairly saying "The gender pay gap in financial services is worse than in most other sectors."

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Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Fast Tracking Children at Risk

In the wake of the Brandon Muir case Education Secretary Fiona Hyslop MSP announced funding for a fast track information system for children at risk. According to a report in The Journal the Vulnerable Person's System (VPS) will help agencies react faster to changes in a child's circumstances in the future to keep them safe from neglect and abuse. In the initial stages the system will "allow police forces to share secure, accurate and up-to-date information electronically, it will be open to other agencies in due course."

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National Sexual Crimes Unit

On Saturday an article in The Herald reported the Lord Advocate, Elish Angiolini QC, has announced that a new team of Scotland's most senior prosecutors is to specialise in the investigation and prosecution of serious sexual crimes across Scotland.

This follows criticism of Scotland's 2.9% rape conviction rate I mentioned in this post and convicted rapist John Munro sacking his defence lawyers for the 10th to 13th time on Thursday in an attempt to avoid being sentenced. According to the BBC here Munro has is said to have written to the Law Society claiming he cannot be punished as he believes the sentencing period has elapsed since he was convicted. He is now due to be sentenced later in March.

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Monday, March 9, 2009

Cohabitation - Provision on Intestacy

Last week Catherine Hart of CaseCheck reviewed the first case where a decision was imposed under s29 Family Law (Scotland) Act 2006. Section 29 allows an application to be made by a surviving cohabitant where the deceased cohabitant died intestate for an order for payment of a capital sum from the deceased’s net intestate estate or for transfer of property. The case was heard in December 2008 at Falkirk Sheriff Court.

The Pursuer had lived with the deceased, who died intestate and without issue, for about 2.5 years They had not formed a civil relationship and the Pursuer sought payment of the deceased’s entire net intestate estate or, alternatively, an order for transfer of heritable property. The Defender was the executor for the estate of the deceased, her half brother, and submitted that no award should be made standing that the Pursuer had already received a half share of the lump sum death benefit and an adult dependent’s pension from the deceased’s employers’ pension scheme. The Defender had received the other half share of the lump sum.

It was held that the Pursuer was entitled to make a claim but the amount was assessed at nil. The full judgement is here.

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Interviewed by Natasha Phillips

Last week I was interviewed by Natasha Phillips of Divorce Manual about my experience and observations on the Scottish system. The interview is now available here and also on No 2 Abuse here.

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Speed Dating

Apparently I'm not the only one who turns cold at the thought of speed dating. According to this Newsbiscuit article psychologists at Aberdeen University found it took participants at a speed dating event between two and three seconds to realise what a horrendous mistake they had made and start checking for exits like "trapped baby marmosets."

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Presumption of Joint Custody

In his posts Thoughts on Presuming Joint Custody Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3 Sam Hasler of Indiana Divorce & Family Law Blog examines the arguments for and against a presumption of joint custody. Sam thinks a presumption of joint custody will change the focus from custody litigation to rebutting the presumption and will not benefit children because there will still be resentment and acrimonious litigation.

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Saturday, March 7, 2009

The Mum Song

Last week I posted a sentimental video I'm Watching You - Dad so this week I'm posting an unsentimental video with a full apology to Gioachino Rossini.

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Grandparents Apart

Thanks to Arnie Saccnuson for forwarding an email from Jimmy Deuchars of Grandparents Apart UK about their demonstration held on Thursday in Glasgow's George Square. Around 20 supporters of the group were joined by councillors and former MSPs as part of a campaign calling for no child be put into care if there is scope for them to live with grandparents.

According to The Herald report protesters were told Scotland can avoid further cases like the Brandon Muir which concluded earlier this week, if social workers utilise the care on offer from wider family circles. Mr Deuchars said that social workers were guilty of alienating "at risk" and vulnerable children from their extended families by too often putting them into care as the first option. He claimed when grandparents attempt a fight for residence they are told they could lose all contact rights and he feels the best interests of the child is something that is being misused.

Jimmy Deuchars founded the support group Grandparents Apart after his daughter died and he lost access to his two grandchildren. The group took part in consultation with the Scottish Executive on proposals for the Charter for Grandchildren (pdf);-

FAMILIES ARE IMPORTANT TO CHILDREN – GRANDCHILDREN CAN EXPECT:

To be involved with, and helped to understand, decisions made about their lives.

• To be treated fairly.

• To know and maintain contact with their family (except in very exceptional circumstances) and other people who are important to them.

• To know that their grandparents still love them, even if they are not able to see them at the present time.

• To know their family history.

• The adults in their lives to put their needs first and to protect them from disputes between adults – not to use them as weapons in quarrels.

• Social workers, when making assessments about their lives, to take into account the loving and supporting role grandparents can play in their lives.

• The courts, when making decisions about their lives, to take into account the loving and supporting role grandparents can play in their lives.

• Lawyers and other advisers, to encourage relationship counselling or mediation when adults seek advice on matters affecting them and their children.

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Friday, March 6, 2009

The Bawdy Bard

In the post below I mentioned last night's The One Show. At the end of the programme was an item about Edinburgh and in particular the Burn's song Such A Parcel Of Rogues performed by Dick Gaughan. Burns wrote a number of bawdy songs and Christine Kydd, who is no shrinking violet, told me even she had turned down the opportunity to sing one particular song for the collection The Complete Songs of Robert Burns produced by Dr Fred Freeman, Honorary Fellow of the Department of English Literature at the University of Edinburgh. In the end another friend, Wendy Weatherby, performed the song and believe you me it is bawdy.

Anyway earlier this week The Journal reported the Faculty of Advocates is to reprint Burn's bawdy poem The Fornicator's Court, a humorously satirical account of the 18th century Presbyterian Kirk's approach to sexual shenanigans. The poem was discovered in Sir Walter Scott's private library at Abbotsford and Sir Walter was a member of the Faculty of Advocates, which owns his library. Money raised from a limited print run the will go to the Abbotsford Library Project Trust, set up to help conserve the library.

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DV Is Not A Gender Issue

Lucy Reed of Pink Tape has written an excellent post about DV following The One Show last night. If like me you missed the programme it is now available on BBC iPlayer here. I agree wholeheartedly with Lucy, DV is not about numbers although I do feel the plight of male victims was ignored far too long and there are lessons to learn.

Back in 1999 Erin Pizzey, who appeared on last night's The One Show, wrote in The Scotsman about the opening of the first refuge for women and children in London during the early 1970s. Erin Pizzey had become disillusioned after, she said, damaged women had become the leading lights of the women's liberation movement and projected their rage and their discontent,  onto ‘all men.’ The article continued;

By this time, I was very aware that while many of the women were indeed ‘innocent victims of their partner’s violence,’ many were not.   Of the first hundred women that came into my refuge, sixty two were as violent as the men they left.  They were not ‘victims of their partner’s violence.’  They were ‘victims of their own violence.’  Most of these women had  experienced sexual abuse and violence in their own childhoods. Not only were they violent in the refuge but they were also violent and abusive to their children.  They were the women most likely to go back to their violent partners or if they left, to go on to form another violent relationship.  These were the women who most need our love and concern.  I also saw all the men who came looking for their partners and their children.  I could see quite plainly that domestic violence was not a gender issue.

Certainly in my experience there are elements of truth in Erin Pizzey's account. In the 1970s there were a fair number of radical feminists and when I worked in mental health it was obvious DV is a complex issue with victims sometimes being abusive themselves. I would even venture to say that it felt as though the numbers of men who suffered emotional abuse I came into contact with may well have equalled the number of women.

Nonetheless, it is not possible to escape the fact that when it comes to serious physical injuries requiring hospital treatment women outnumbered men 8:2 the last time I looked. It is also quite ludicrous to hold feminists responsible for the issue of DV against men being marginalized, as was suggested in The One Programme last night, when men's groups are far too busy berating feminists to do anything constructive about it themselves. DV is not a gender issue and the sooner we move to groups based on issues rather than gender and practice gender egalitarianism the better.

The Men's Advice Line offers advice and support for men in abusive relationships.

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Thursday, March 5, 2009

Brandon Muir

Yesterday The Herald reported three separate child protection inquiries after the conviction of Robert Cunningham who was found guilty of killing Brandon Muir at the end of a three week trial in the High Court in Glasgow. Brandon, aged 23 months when he died in March 2008, suffered 40 injuries causing part of his stomach to tear after it was pushed on to his spine.

His mother had been found to be coping by authorities and not considered at risk but Brandon died just 18 days after Robert Cunningham moved into the home with his mother in Dundee. Ms Boyd, the mother, was a heroin user who turned to prostitution to finance the couple's drug habit and social services were in discussion about moving to protect the child. Earlier in the trial charges had been dropped against Ms Boyd when Donald Findlay, QC, argued there was not enough evidence to prove she had been aware of Cunningham's attack.

Robert Cunningham was convicted of the culpable homicide will be sentenced later this month after background reports are completed.

Warning that 20,000 children in Scotland were living with drug addict parents Alex Salmond at First Minister's Questions in the Scottish Parliament said: "... the culpability, the guilt lies with person who perpetrated the crime. It doesn't lie with the social work department or the police. " See The Herald article Salmond warns 20,000 Scottish children living with addicts

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Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Pay Gap Amongst Highest In Europe

The Herald reports European Commission figures published today showing the pay gap between men and women in the UK is amongst the highest in Europe. Men earn 21% more than women in the UK, based on the average difference between gross hourly earnings, compared with the EU average at 17.4% .

About 21% of women aged over 65 in Europe are at risk of poverty compared with 16% of men, says the Commission. The central banks of all 27 EU countries are led by a male governor and men account for almost 90% of board members of leading companies. The proportion of women in national parliaments has risen significantly in the last decade though, from 16% on average to 24% last year. The European Parliament has 31% women members.

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WFTC Linked to Divorce

Apparently claiming Working Families Tax Credit makes it easier for single mothers to boost their income through work, because it is linked to claiming extra child care costs has led to more divorces in poor households. The BBC reports researchers at the University of Essex have found mothers in poor households were more than 2 percentage points more likely to get divorced than childless women. However, it was also said the overall achievements of the tax credit scheme have been "extremely successful" in getting unemployed people, particularly single mothers, back to work.

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Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Failure to Reform Scots Law

The Journal reports Lord Drummond Young, chairman of the Scottish Law Commission voicing concern that the Scottish Government has consistently failed since devolution to implement the Commission's proposals for law reform. The judge warns the danger is that Scots law will fall behind the rest of the world's legal systems.

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