When Advocacy Becomes Dangerous: The Growing Threat

By Tina Swithin, Founder of One Mom’s Battle

Have you ever started your day by reading a public comment from a man with a violent criminal history—someone who pleaded guilty to stalking, harassment, and violating protective orders—saying you should be put through a wood chipper and fed to the fish?

I have.

He wrote:

“Woodchipper parked at river. Food 4 fishes.”

The immediate response from one man, “No because then she would become a martyr and the media would latch onto it and make her cause even more successful.”

These comments were in response to a post made by a former leader in the father’s rights movement. The original post read:

“Hey The Fathers Rights Movement. She’s gloating in your fkn face… She never did that shit when I was around and getting laws changed in states. Ass clowns only post memes now while she pisses on the turf in your face.” (it included a clown emoji, a laughing emoji, a skull emoji and a tombstone emoji)

This wasn’t posted in a dark corner of the internet. It was shared openly, in direct response to my advocacy. And it ignited a flood of hostility. A stream of men followed with comments like:

• “She is a toxic stain on humanity. There is a special place in hell for people like her.”

• “She’s trash.”

• “What a dumb C U next Tuesday.”

• “Huge misandric feminazi… She should have equal punishment for her public sexism.”

For the past 15 years, I have led One Mom’s Battle with one mission: to protect children caught in the crosshairs of a broken family court system. I do this work as someone who lived through that system as a child and again, as a mother fighting to shield her children from abuse. I speak from lived experience and from years of bearing witness to others enduring the same institutional betrayal.

Let me be unequivocally clear: One Mom’s Battle does not advocate for mothers or for fathers.

We advocate for children.

We support the safer, healthier parent, no matter their gender. I was raised by my father. The men in my life are emotionally healthy, loving and kind. I have stood alongside countless protective fathers over the years. This work is not about attacking men. It is about standing up to abuse and shining a light on systemic failures that place children at risk.

As someone who moderates large online survivor communities, I have spent years creating safe, respectful spaces for those who have been silenced. I have also spent countless hours removing harmful comments and banning individuals who show up on our public pages to provoke, threaten and intimidate. And through it all, I have never once gone into a father’s rights group to attack, harass, or disrupt. I do not go to their pages - that is not where my time is best spent. I do not engage in personal attacks. I speak the truth about what so many of us are living through, and that has made me a target.

The threats are escalating. The hostility is growing.

In February, someone affiliated with a father’s rights group (Father’s Rights War Room) of over 70,000 people wrote:

“Tina with One Mom's Battle is passing law denouncing that Parental Alienation is real!! Tina has groups in every state. They crowd source arguments and strategies and practice silver bullet.

Tina has close ties to advocate and the funding association with the Violence Against Women’s Act, including Danielle Pollack who is the national lead for Kayden's Law enactment and the denial that parental alienation exists.

But Tina Swithin is public enemy number one for this movement and her influence must be addressed if we are ever to see family law reform.”

Let’s be very clear: this isn’t harmless rhetoric. It’s not just disagreement or critique. It’s targeted messaging, loaded with lies, disinformation and laced with incitement.

When someone is publicly labeled a “threat” to a movement and framed as someone who “must be addressed,” it is not just rhetoric—it is fuel on an already burning fire. It becomes a trigger for targeted harassment, and that harassment has already begun.

When this kind of language is amplified by individuals with large followings and shared within communities known for hostility toward women and protective parents, it sends a chilling message: I am not seen as a human being, but as a problem to be eliminated.

This is not simply reckless—it is dangerous. It puts my life at risk. It endangers my children. And it threatens the safety of my family and the many advocates who dare to speak the truth.

I have also watched fellow advocates, especially those who testify publicly in support of child centered legislation, be targeted and harassed when their words are reposted and misrepresented in these same forums. Their stories are weaponized. The message is clear: Go after them.

In yet another chilling example of the rhetoric directed at women in these spaces, the following comment was made in response to a Facebook post by a father’s rights advocate:

“A hitman is cheaper than a lawyer and once the majority of men figure this out and start going that route, I guarantee you these pieces of dog meat for society calls women will stop filing for no fault divorce to get free money every month.”

This is not policy debate.

This is not advocacy.

This is violence.

And it is being normalized in spaces where lives, children, and families are on the line.

I am taking these threats seriously.

I am actively evaluating steps to protect my personal safety and the safety of my family. Legal avenues are being explored, and I intend to work with the appropriate authorities to address the severity of these threats and the individuals responsible. I am encouraging others in this space to do the same. I am not alone in this fear. Advocates across the country, especially women, are watching the cost of speaking up grow more dangerous by the day.

If you are an attorney, a member of law enforcement, or have connections to agencies such as the FBI and understand the legal implications of this kind of incitement and threat-based behavior, I would welcome your guidance. We need legal minds and safety experts at the table. The time to act is now.

To those who support this work: stay alert. Document everything. Speak up when you see rhetoric that crosses the line. This is not just about online harassment. It is about public safety, truth telling, and protecting the people who are fighting for a better future for children.

We will continue to speak.

We will continue to advocate.

We will continue to shine a light on the betrayal and failures within these systems, because children’s lives depend on it.

Our commitment to this work is unwavering.

— Tina Swithin