Category: Violent Parents

Many violent intimate partners are also violent parents. The size of the overlap between domestic violence and child abuse is usually at least 35% and may be as high as 70% when the couple has children in common.

Even when children are not direct targets seeing one parent be violent against another, hearing it happen, or later seeing injuries or hearing about it are traumatic events for children. Witnessing violence during childhood puts children at higher risk for significant learning and health problems that can last a lifetime. Drug and alcohol abuse, depression and suicide all occur in child witnesses more often than adults who were raised in safe homes.

Protective orders from Maryland courts can protect both the adult victim and the children.  Children are at high risk when they try to intervene to protect a parent, or when the abusing parent drives while high or inebriated.

Tragically, children are also at risk of homicide by intimate partner abusers. Children are sometimes killed to “punish” the victim, or other times are killed by the abuser as part of a murder-suicide.

Prince George’s judge to release abuser who set his girlfriend on fire

set his girlfriend on fire

LaQuinn Phillips stands accused of attempted murder after he allegedly set his girlfriend on fire in September of 2017, leaving burns over 70% of Andrea Grinage’s body. Grinage was pregnant at the time. Incredibly, Prince George’s Circuit Court Judge Pearson recently ordered that Mr. Phillips be released from jail to home detention due to a […]

Maryland Circuit Court judge’s verdict not in “the best interest of the child”

Judge Joan Ryon

Circuit Court Judge Joan Ryon recently delivered a shocking decision in a Montgomery County custody case that appears to ignore credible evidence of physical and sexual child abuse and domestic violence. This case is receiving national attention due to the irregularities in the military’s handling of the original abuse case and ex parte communications between […]

Safe Passage Center is fully open – and it looks great!

safe passages center

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Violence doesn’t stop judge from giving father “tie-breaking vote” on child

domestic violence survivors seek a divorce

When domestic violence survivors seek a divorce, they often run head long into a host of problems that result in an increased risk of violence for them and their children.  Maryland law requires that all decisions regarding custody be made “in the best interests of the child,” yet judges regularly penalize survivors for raising concerns […]

Link between domestic violence & child abuse

Wow. As Executive Director of Court Watch, a lot of articles come across my desk. But this one is a stunner. I’m just reading an article that analyzes data from the National Survey of Children’s Exposure to Violence. The authors find that more than 1/3 of youth who witnessed partner violence had also been maltreated […]

Many groups testify for Monitored Child Exchange & Supervised Visitation Center

Advocates for domestic violence victims and their children have been coming out in force to push for full funding of our first County-run monitored child exchange and supervised visitation center for domestic violence victims and their children. Today a host of organizations testified as part of the Montgomery County Council’s public hearings on the FY18 budget. […]

Washington Post urges full funding for new Safe Visitation Center

The Washington Post today editorialized urging County Executive Leggett and the County Council to fully fund a new facility to provide both safe child exchange and supervised visitation services to families experiencing domestic violence. Mr. Leggett’s new budget for fiscal year 2018 will be made public March 14th. It is critical that adequate funds be set aside […]

Judge refuses protection to child at great risk

A District Court judge handling protective orders in November listened as a petitioner told her story. The petitioner described how her partner attacked and strangled her while she was holding their young child in her arms. He strangled her again on the bed, with the child lying right next to them. The respondent’s actions put the child in great danger and show a […]

Progress on safe child exchange services

Survivors of domestic violence need safe places they can go to transfer their children for visits with the other parent without experiencing fear or injury. Court Watch leaders had a good meeting today with County Councilmember George Leventhal, Sheriff Popkin, Uma Ahluwalia (Director of DHSS) and their staffs. We discussed the urgent need for safe exchange […]