The woman and her children were exposed to violence by her husband for years. After another incident, the woman was hospitalized with serious bodily injuries, and she begged to save her 4 children. We contacted the Commission, and they did not respond to our demands to protect the children. The representative of Division of Children’s Protection of Regional Administration together with the abuser decided that 2 of the children will stay with the mother, and the other 2 with the father, until the court decision is adopted. De facto, the children went to the father who has perpetrated violence against the children for years. Representative of Women’s Support Center NGO
Custody of Children As noted in the previous example, another challenge for victims of DV is the battle among parents for the custody of the children. Often the abuser parent uses the children as weapons to either make the victim/ mother return to him or to punish her by keeping the children away from her. The abuser does not allow the child to go to the mother. Thus, the perpetrator continues his manipulative and abusive behavior toward the victim. In reality the abuser does not even fulfill his role as a caretaker and lets his mother or a close relative care for the child. The abuser is not involved in childrearing, but rather his demand for the children’s custody is more an act of revenge and inflicting emotional pain on his ex-partner.
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