While every custody case is different, a growing number of advocates, attorneys, and child-welfare professionals say they are witnessing a troubling shift in courtrooms.
Family courts are becoming more contentious, more polarized and, in some cases, more harmful to the very children they were designed to protect.
A recent investigation by the South Florida Sun Sentinel examines four mothers who lost meaningful contact with their children despite never being found guilty of abuse or neglect. Some have gone years without seeing their children.
“Judges, attorneys, guardians and other court professionals have repeatedly used custody as a cudgel, according to some family court attorneys and advocates, punishing parents for their conduct by limiting their access to their children,” the South Florida Sun Sentinel writes.
However, stories of how mothers and children are treated in family court are not limited to the United States.
A recent report by the nonprofit organization Right to Equality, outlined in a new article in The Guardian, found what researchers described as “widespread and concerning evidence” of victim-blaming and bias in family court judgments in England and Wales.
The findings echo concerns raised by family court advocates in other countries as well.
“It’s definitely getting worse here in Australia,” says Janine Rees, a self-described “lived-experience advocate.” “We have absolutely no oversight here of family court. Judges have absolute power.”
Rees says she has seen similar patterns in her own work with mothers navigating the system.
She argues that domestic violence allegations are frequently minimized while mothers who raise concerns are portrayed as hostile or obstructive.
“Legal misogyny is at the core,” she says. “[It keeps] women in their place. How dare she leave? How dare she speak up?”
Source: Family Court Is Getting Worse, Advocates and Experts Warn | by Catherine Jones | Jun, 2026 | Medium