Could Fathers Unfairly Lose Visitation And Custody Due To Laws Designed To Shield Rape Victims From Their Rapists?
Michigan has just joined the growing list of states that are taking steps to prevent rapists from gaining parental rights over the children conceived in rape, should the mother choose to carry the baby to term. While similar bills exist in other states, the advocates say that many don't go far enough to protect victims of rape. However, others may question whether some states go a little too far and could potentially deprive innocent fathers of their rights. If you're a father who conceived a child with a woman and the relationship has since soured, there are some things you should understand about what can happen to your custody rights if the mother of your child alleges that you raped her.
The consequences regarding paternity vary greatly from state to state.
In 7 states, there are no laws that prevent a rapist from seeking visitation or even custody of a child conceived in rape. In nearly half of the states that do have laws designed to shield women from such actions, the law requires a rape conviction before parental rights can be terminated.
The advocates who say these laws are ineffective have a legitimate concern for the rape victims: 54% of rapes go unreported. If a rape is reported, only 1 out of 4 reports leads to an arrest. Of those arrests, only 1 out of 4 leads to a conviction. That essentially means that the laws in those states are useless in many rape cases because the majority of rapists won't be convicted.
The laws in some states make it much easier to terminate a father's parental rights based on a rape allegation.
However, the law that has passed the state senate in Michigan moves the decision about whether or not the rape happened, for the purposes of custody and visitation only, to family court. Unlike criminal court, where there has to be evidence "beyond a reasonable doubt' for there to be a conviction, family court operates on a much lower standard of proof. Essentially, if the judge believes that it is more likely than not that the rape occurred, the father's rights to his child can be terminated.
While there's no evidence that women commonly use a false rape allegation in order to gain sole custody of a child after a relationship ends, the system is ripe for that sort of abuse, particularly if there's some reason the mother doesn't want to admit to the relationship. For example, if the mother had a one-night affair with her co-worker, she may not want to admit that the sex was consensual and risk her marriage. For a father that's legitimately interested in the well-being of his child, this could be a worrisome possibility.
If you don't know the laws in your state regarding rape and child custody and you feel like you may be unfairly threatened with an allegation in order to get you to drop your pursuit of visitation rights, contact an attorney, like Lois Iannone Attorney at Law, who is experienced in the issue of father's rights as soon as possible in order to discuss your case.
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