Mothers are not protected by patriarchal law or custom. Double standards pervade the child custody courts: fathering is over-valued, mothering under-valued. Fathers often win custody even when they are parentally uninvolved or abusive; mothers lose it for any departure from an idealized stereotype of motherhood. In particular, male violence is routinely minimized and female response to it seen as pathological. Creative tactics are necessary in order for custodially embattled mothers to survive; and more publicity and more facilities are urgently needed.
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