Washington House Bill 2237: Testimony
On Wednesday, January 17, 2024, I prepared testimony in opposition of Washington's HB 2237 and I am told there were over 20 people waiting to testify against this legislation when the meeting ended (time constraints). It is very important to note, the Washington Superior Court Judges’ Association (SCJA) were key authors, contributing to this bill. Definite red flags for me.
I was able to provide written testimony, and I encourage you to do the same by clicking here. Here is my submitted testimony:
“My name is Tina Swithin. I am providing testimony in strong opposition, on behalf of One Mom’s Battle. We are an international advocacy group based in the United States with 250,000 members. We have a very active chapter in Washington, so I have a front row seat to what is happening in the Washington family court system.
When a victim of domestic abuse makes the brave decision to leave the relationship, the only resource available to them is family court. We tell survivors to "be brave," and to leave the abuse, yet survivors in Washington are walking into court with a false sense of hope, believing that they will be protected. Instead of protection, they are met with institutional betrayal: the system that is supposed to protect them is failing.
As a survivor of domestic abuse, I speak for many others when I say: on the day I was assigned my family court case number, it felt as though I was also assigned my own personal terrorist. My ex-husband utilized the legal system to punish me for leaving and he knew my children were the number one way to hurt me. It is inhumane to be forced into joint decision making with your abuser. How can you make important decisions with the person actively weaponizing your children to maintain power and control. The need for power and control is often heightened post separation, this is a very dangerous time for survivors and their children.
In a system that lacks training in subjects like domestic violence, child sexual abuse, trauma and victim/perpetrator behaviors, there is little recourse for survivors when a judge gets it wrong. Judges are cradling the lives of children in their hands, and they are getting it wrong often.
On Mar 9, 2022, U.S. “Congress finds the following” via Federally passed The Keeping Children Safe From Family Violence Act or “Kayden’s Law” (source: Custody Peace):
“A child’s risk of abuse increases after a perpetrator of intimate partner violence separates from a domestic partner, even when the perpetrator has not previously directly abused the child.”
“More than 75 percent of child sexual abuse is perpetrated by a family member or a person known to the child.” “Judges presiding over custody cases involving allegations of child abuse, child sexual abuse, & domestic violence are rarely required to receive training on these subjects, and most states have not established standards for such training.”
“Scientifically unsound theories that treat abuse allegations of mothers as likely false attempts to undermine fathers are frequently applied in family court to minimize or deny reports of abuse of parents and children.”
“Approximately 1 ⁄3 of parents alleged to have committed child abuse took primary custody from the protective parent reporting the abuse, placing children at ongoing risk.”
“Empirical research indicates that courts regularly discount allegations of child physical and sexual abuse when those allegations are raised in child custody cases.”
“Total lifetime financial costs with just 1 year of confirmed cases of child maltreatment, including child physical abuse, sexual abuse, psychological abuse, and neglect, result in $124,000,000,000 in annual costs to the economy of the United States.”
The Saunders Study (2012) is scientific research from the National Institute of Justice in the US Justice Department. In this study, they investigated how court professionals respond to domestic violence cases. Dr. Saunders found:
“…domestic violence is frequently undetected in custody cases or ignored as a significant factor in determinations of custody and visitation.”
The study goes on to say,
“An evaluation of the judges education program “Enhancing Judicial Skills in Domestic Violence Cases,” developed by the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges and the Family Violence Prevention Fund, showed that judges overestimated their skills and competence prior to the training (Jaffe, 2010). Six months after training, the majority of judges saw specific behavior changes in the areas of victim safety, batterer accountability, and judicial leadership.”
This bill is incredibly dangerous for survivors. Judges do NOT need more discretion. The thought of judicial officers writing laws in a system that is already described as the “wild, wild west” is terrifying.
Washington needs more comprehensive protection for survivors such as Kayden’s Law HB 2010…we cannot afford to go backwards.”
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If you would like to read the thorough analysis on this bill from the Family Violence Appellate Project, click here.
