AFCC 61st Annual Conference Workshop 36 Evaluation |
Workshop 36: Post Separation Abuse: Parenting After Divorce for Custody Evaluators
Domestic abuse rarely ends when a couple breaks up. Post-separation abuse includes common tactics such as threats and pressure, verbal, and economic abuse, reneging on agreements, sabotaging the other parent’s life, and litigation abuse. Domestic abusers also manipulate children post-separation, including undermining the other parent’s authority, abusing the other parent through visitation and calls, and using children to track and control the protective parent. The presentation also describes lesser-known tactics such as spiteful disregard and counter-accusations. Participants in this workshop will learn how domestic abusers’ common parenting deficits affect children at different developmental stages. Finally, the presenters will recommend best practices in evaluating custody when allegations of domestic abuse are present.