New Revelations Document Shoddy, Politicized PBS Reporting, Says Fathers & Families

New Revelations Document Shoddy, Politicized PBS Reporting, Says Fathers & Families

BOSTON, Nov. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- The PBS television network is allying itself with feminist groups opposed to joint custody of children by airing a one-sided look at child custody disputes just when it is trying to overcome its reputation for politicized reporting. "Breaking the Silence: Children's Stories," which premiered Oct. 20 and which is slated to air widely, makes the sensational claim that 75% of fathers seeking shared or sole custody of their children are secret wife beaters and/or child abusers. No opposing views are presented in the hour-long documentary.

Now, court documents released two days ago by Los Angeles columnist Glenn Sacks reveal that Sadia Loeliger, a central figure who is portrayed as a heroic defender of her children from her allegedly battering ex, was instead a serial child abuser who hit, burned and terrorized her children. These charges were made by one of her daughters, Fatima, a babysitter, a niece, and numerous therapists and evaluators. Moreover, the American Psychological Association has issued a statement that the film has mis-stated its position.

The program starts by claiming that "one third of mothers lose custody to abusive husbands," when only 15% of all fathers win physical custody at all. It then relies heavily on "experts" with a history of extremism, according to critics. The narrator, Lundy Bancroft, has himself stated he was fired from his job educating Massachusetts court personnel about domestic violence for excessive zeal. Bancroft is also an anti-Israel extremist, and has compared domestic violence to what he views as Israel's imperialistic domination of the Palestinians, creating "starvation." Law professor Joan Meier cites the work of sociologist Amy Neustein, but Neustein's grown daughter has repudiated her strident accusations that her ex-husband molested the girl, recalling that for 18 years she "was silent as my mother spun lie after lie about my father and me." To support her case, Meier also cites a 2003 article in the alternative newspaper The Boston Phoenix, which cost the paper a $1 million libel judgment for unfounded molestation accusations against a father. And the PBS program asserts that children are "most often in danger from the father," ignoring ample statistics from the US DHHS showing that most perpetrators of child abuse are female, and that children are safest with their father in the home.

"Some feminist groups are concerned about the accelerating trend towards joint custody of children, and are desperately striking back by accusing most fathers who seek custody of being batterers and child abusers," said Ned Holstein, MD, MS, President of Fathers & Families of Boston. "It's a shame PBS has dispensed with objective reporting and chosen to air an extremist point of view without looking at the political motives of the advocates it features, nor giving air time to the evidence that most children do better by having both parents involved after divorce. Fathers & Families calls on PBS to allow an opportunity for those with a different point of view to respond on the air."

About Fathers & Families

Based in Boston, Fathers & Families is a non-profit advocacy organization protecting children's rights to the love and care of both parents after separation or divorce. Through education and legislative outreach programs, Fathers & Families seeks to shape public policy and change well-meaning but misguided laws, judicial traditions, and government policies that drive many loving fathers out of their children's lives after divorce. Fathers & Families counts some 2,000 Massachusetts supporters, of whom approximately 40 percent are women. More information on Fathers & Families and its programs is available on the organization's Website at http://www.fathersandfamilies.org/ or by calling (617) 542-9300.

Source: Fathers & Families

CONTACT: Dr. Ned Holstein, President of Fathers & Families, +1-617-542-
9300, nedholstein@fathersandfamilies.org

Web site: http://www.fathersandfamilies.org/

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