Citation

Nowling MM. Fam. Court Rev. 2003; 41(4): 517-526.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2003, Association of Family and Conciliation Courts, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/j.174-1617.2003.tb00912.x

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This article argues that the Nicholson v. Williams case was decided wrongly because it does not adequately protect the interests and welfare of children who witness domestic violence. It contends that the legal system must do more to ensure the well-being of children who witness domestic violence before permitting them to remain in the custody of their mothers who were living in violent relationships. The article does not support the notion that victims of domestic violence should be prosecuted for failure to protect or child abuse but argues that evidence reveals how detrimental witnessing domestic violence is on a child and that this necessitates the need for stricter measures to be taken to protect children from this danger.