Why does the court allow a father to have visitation rights with a child that is being abused by him?

Answer 1

You have not provided any detail whatsoever to enable anyone to make an honest attempt at an answer to your query, either about the nature of the abuse or what actions were taken by the authorities.

Here are some facts that may result in the abuse not being taken seriously:

• The care and resources devoted to child abuse claims in your jurisdictions. They vary widely across the United States. Resources, or lack thereof, of the investigating authority and of course, the desire to investigate fully may affect the outcome of a complaint.
• The emotional reactions of the authority to whom the abuse is reported can affect their reasoning and judgment. The personal biases of the people involved in deciding how the case will be investigated and determining the outcome of the case.
• The lack of substantial evidence.

Statistics on child abuse are controversial because there is so much abuse that is never reported. Statistics are human creations, can be easily manipulated to suit the user and often are. All statistics and reports of prevalence of child abuse are disputed by some experts. Huge numbers of children who are abused are never in a position to have the abuse reported. It is often kept secret by the family for fear of publicity. It is often kept secret by the child for fear of harm if they report it. Lastly, only recently has child abuse come to be viewed as a major social problem at all.

Child abuse occurs across all cultural, gender, racial, economic and social lines. It is committed most often by the caretaker of the child. People who abuse their children lack the necessary abilities needed to parent properly, to nurture and to form a consistent, stable relationship with their child. Children with special needs are sometimes at more risk because of the stress of parenting the child and the lack of understanding by the parent that the child's behavior is caused by their disability.

People who abuse are frequently self-centered, lack coping skills and have little understanding of normal child development. They often have unreasonably high expectations of what constitutes normal behavior in a child. They have anger management issues. They are people who put other things first ahead of their child's needs: work, money, sleep, their own entertainment, their partner, their friends, their own needs. They frequently have substance abuse problems.