Recent Judgement of the Italian Judiciary about medical assisted procreation (MAP): is informed consent valid after parents separation?

ABSTRACT: Law No 40/2004 regulates in Italy the matter of medically assisted procreation (MAP). Recently, the Tribunal of Capua Vetere expressed its position on the subject of informed consent in a case of MAP. In the specific case, a couple entered the preliminary stages of the PMA procedures, carrying out the fertilization of the ovum and the embryo production. Afterwards, the couple separated and the man denied consent to the continuation of the MAP. The woman, willing to proceed with the implantation, the woman made an urgent judicial appeal, obtaining the judge's permission to transfer the embryo to the uterus. This paper analyses the different bioethical positions on MAP's informed consent. In fact, on the one hand, the paper highlight what is set out in Law 219/2017 which provides for the possibility of the patient to revoke at any time the consent to the treatment given. On the other hand, it should be noted that Law 40/2004, willing to protect the embryo, establishes the irrevocability of the position of parental consent after fertilization. The judgment in question seems to favour this latter position, placing itself in the protection of the cryopreserved embryo and recall-ing the principle of entrustment following the fertilization of the egg. Nevertheless, the matter is controversial a consistent amount of legal developments are expected to arise in the next future.

Divorced and separated parents during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant stress for individuals, couples, and families. Divorced and separated couples with children face unique stresses amid the pandemic. This mixed-methods study explored these challenges among 296 divorced and separated parents: namely 204 women formerly partnered with men, 34 men formerly partnered with women, and 58 women formerly partnered with women, who were surveyed during Summer/Fall of 2020. Participants described legal, financial, and coparenting challenges. Those who were not yet divorced described difficulties filing for or finalizing their divorce because of court closures and lack of responsiveness from legal professionals. Those who were already divorced also faced legal challenges, such as being unable to obtain a court date to modify custody arrangements. Financial challenges included renegotiating financial support obligations in the context of job loss. Salient coparenting conflicts, explored through closed- and open-ended questions, included communication issues, different views on virus risk mitigation behaviors, financial issues (especially for those not yet divorced), and transitioning between households and handling remote schooling (especially for those with shared physical custody). Participants elaborated on COVID-19-specific challenges, revealing that (a) lack of communication or agreement regarding shared strategies for risk mitigation reflected and exacerbated challenging dynamics between coparents, (b) remote schooling was often the site of disagreement when one parent felt that they were doing more than their fair share of coordination and oversight, and (c) different perspectives on science were expected to lead to future contention when making a joint decision about whether to vaccinate children. Findings have implications for family and legal professionals working with divorced, divorcing, and separated parents.

La pandemia de la COVID-19 ha generado mucho estrés en las personas, las parejas y las familias. Las parejas separadas y divorciadas que tienen niños enfrentan tensiones únicas en medio de la pandemia. En este estudio de métodos combinados se analizaron estas dificultades entre 296 padres divorciados y separados, por ejemplo, 204 mujeres que antes estaban en pareja con hombres, 34 hombres que antes estaban en pareja con mujeres y 58 mujeres que antes estaban en pareja con mujeres, a quienes se los encuestó durante el verano/otoño de 2020. Los participantes describieron las dificultades legales, económicas y de cocrianza. Aquellos que aún no estaban divorciados describieron dificultades para presentar la demanda de divorcio o para finalizar su divorcio debido a los cierres de los juzgados y a la falta de respuesta de los abogados. Los que ya estaban divorciados también enfrentaron dificultades legales, como no poder obtener una cita en el juzgado para modificar los acuerdos de tenencia. Entre las dificultades económicas se encontraron la renegociación de las obligaciones de ayuda económica en el contexto de la pérdida del empleo. Los conflictos de cocrianza más destacados, analizados mediante preguntas cerradas y abiertas, fueron los problemas de comunicación, los diferentes puntos de vista sobre las conductas de disminución del riesgo de contagio del virus, los problemas económicos (especialmente para aquellos que aún no estaban divorciados) y la transición entre hogares y el manejo de las clases virtuales (especialmente para aquellos con tenencia compartida). Los participantes explicaron en profundidad las dificultades específicas de la COVID-19, y revelaron que (a) la falta de comunicación o de acuerdo con respecto a las estrategias compartidas para la reducción de riesgos reflejaron y exacerbaron la dinámica compleja entre los copadres, (b) las clases virtuales fueron generalmente el punto de desacuerdo cuando uno de los padres sentía que estaba haciendo más de lo que le correspondía con respecto a la coordinación y la supervisión, y (c) se esperó que los diferentes puntos de vista sobre la ciencia condujeran a futuras disputas a la hora de tomar una decisión conjunta acerca de si vacunar o no a los niños. Los resultados tienen consecuencias para los especialistas en familia y en leyes que trabajan con padres divorciados, que se están divorciando y separados.

[Action before ethical dilemmas in the consultation after divorce. Role of the minor according to age and level of maturity]. / Actuación ante los dilemas éticos en la consulta tras divorcio. Papel del menor según edad y nivel de madurez.

Lately, number of divorces is increasing, nevertheless, a parents' divorce can become a traumatic problem for paediatric patients. Consequently, the aim of this study was to analyze the ethical conflicts that appear in the relationship between physician/parents/son/daughter, and more specifically those that a divorce generates. A descriptive study was developed through a survey composed by 39 items. Previously, an exhaustive bibliographic analysis was carried out. Our results show that only 35% of paediatricians interviewed have been educated in bioethics although this issue is important in daily practice. Other items show that 57,5% would not cancel a pharmacological treatment in order to improve quality of life. Also, they would react against a wrong parents' decision (82,5%). They give low value to the minor`s decision (6,05%), and rarely inform exclusively to adolescents (5%). In contrast, paediatricians sometimes ask to adolescents (20%) in first place and involved them to decide in 90% of cases. Besides, there are differences in the relation with fathers and mothers, 17,5% of mothers are informed exclusively, a fact that never happens with fathers. Ethics has an intrinsic value very important in daily clinical decisions in order to respect the rules and to adapt them to the situation of every paediatric patient. When an important ethical conflict become, as a divorce is, it is essential to know who must be informed and the rights everyone has to make a decision. It is complicated to the paediatricians yet to develop 41/2002 law for Patient's autonomy.

Psychological impediments to marriage - forensic and psychiatric opinions. Part I. / Psychiczne przeszkody w zawarciu malzenstwa ­ opiniowanie sadowo-psychiatryczne. Czesc I.

There are two types of proceedings before common courts for annulment of marriages during which expert psychiatrists are appointed. In the first type, the key task of the expert is to assess whether the presence of mental illness or mental retardation at the date of the marriage could possibly pose a threat to the marriage or health of future offspring. The expert performs a retrospective assessment not only of the course and severity of psychiatric disorders strictly distinguished by the legislator, but also their impact on the social functioning of a given person. In the second type of proceedings, marriage annulment is possible when the declaration of conclusion of a marriage was made by a prospective spouse who for whatever reason was in the state that excluded conscious expression of will. The task of the expert in this case is to assess the ability to perform a specific legal act. The aim of the analysis was to discuss problematic and unclear legal formulations concerning marriage annulment, which pose difficulties to psychiatrists and cause that sometimes opinions should only be prepared with a certain probability. Itis particularly troublesome to assess the impactof parent's mental dysfunctions on the health of future offspring. An additional element hindering the forensic and psychiatric evaluation is an analysis of the influence of the environment (including attitudes and behaviours of a healthy spouse) on the picture and the course of mental disorders of an ill or handicapped prospective spouse.

Psychological impediments to marriage - forensic and psychiatric opinions. Part II. / Psychiczne przeszkody w zawarciu malzenstwa ­ opiniowanie sadowo-psychiatryczne. Czesc II.

Episcopal courts adjudicate in proceedings for declaring a marriage void and in these cases psychiatrists and psychologists are appointed as experts. Expert judgment requires the expert to follow a specific substantive approach when preparing the expertise, as well as knowledge of canon legal provisions. Canon law makes validity of a relationship dependent on fulfilment of premises of a valid marriage at the time of the marriage, thus accepting the possibility of an invalid marriage. The so-called consensual and indirectly mental incapacity to marry is dealt with in canon 1,095, which says that the following are incapable of contracting marriage: (1) those who lack the sufficient use of reason; (2) those who suffer from a grave defect of discretion of judgment concerning the essential matrimonial rights and duties mutually to be handed over and accepted; and (3) those who are not able to assume the essential obligations of marriage for causes of a psychic nature. Episcopal courts use terminology that is not found in psychiatry or clinical psychology. However, specific psychopathological conditions stand behind specific formulations in the Code, and they should be taken into account by experts in their analyzes. In proceedings before common courts, only mental illness and mental retardation are taken into account, and no specific disorders are mentioned in Church legislation, which means that experts must consider a wide range of mental dysfunctions in their assessments.

The Israel Family Court - Therapeutic jurisprudence and jurisprudential therapy from the start.

Based on the recommendations of a commission set up to review the handling of Family Law cases in Israel, the Family Courts Law 5755-1995 included a revolutionary provision - that a Social Services Unit, staffed by senior social workers, would be an integral part of each Family Court. Their mandate includes giving assessment, advice and assistance services to litigants and to the court, and this provision has been broadly interpreted, to include mediation and referrals for therapy. The activities of the Unit are confidential and free of charge to the parties. More recently the Units were given the task of seeing children whose future is the subject of litigation, to find out their needs and views; and also to serve as the agency which parties who want to start proceedings are required to attend, in order to receive information about the effect of proceedings on their children and advice about alternative dispute resolution to avoid litigation. The resulting synergy between the social workers and the Judges ensures that the needs of all those involved are met in a therapeutic fashion where this is necessary and possible, alongside the judicial powers to make orders as needed. Thus unnecessary suffering can be mitigated.

Breaking Up Is Hard to Do: Physicians Can Get Subpoenaed in Divorce Cases.

Physicians subpoenaed to participate in a divorce case, whether to testify or simply to supply medical records to the court, could find themselves at the center of an acrimonious split. There are certain things they should know.

Coparentalidade em famílias pós-divórcio: uma ação desenvolvida em um núcleo de práticas judiciárias / Co-parenting in families post-divorce: an action developed into a judicial practices center

Mudanças importantes têm sido vivenciadas pelas famílias, em especial por aquelas que passam por uma dissolução conjugal e precisam reorganizar as relações de parentalidade após o divórcio. Nesse contexto, é fundamental a responsabilização conjunta pelos cuidados com os filhos. Construir uma vivência de coparentalidade tem sido um dos principais objetivos do projeto que norteia esse ensaio, no qual é realizado um trabalho em um núcleo de práticas judiciárias, que objetiva oferecer um acompanhamento quanto ao exercício da parentalidade aos pais que realizaram acordo de guarda de filhos. Através do projeto tem sido oportunizado apoio e possibilidade de compartilhar, buscar superar as dificuldades, evitando afastamentos, distanciamentos ou rupturas, decorrentes de conflitos conjugais que, muitas vezes, atravessam de forma decisiva a experiência parental. Por fim, as considerações finais destacam a relevância dessas ações e a importância de que possam ser compartilhadas a fim de que sejam ampliadas para outros contextos e instituições.(AU)

Important changes have been experienced by families, especially for those undergoing a marital dissolution and need to reorganize the relations of parenting after divorce. In this context, joint accountability for child care is fundamental. Building a co-parenting experience has been one of the main objectives of the project that guides this essay, in which it is held a task in a center of judicial practices, which aims to provide an accompaniment on the exercise of parenting to parents who underwent guard children agreement. Through the project has been offered support and ability to share, seeking to overcome the difficulties, avoiding clearances, distancing or breaks, arising from marital conflicts that often cross on a decisively way the parental experience. Lastly, the final considerations show the importance of these actions and the importance of which they can be shared in order to be extended to other contexts and institutions.(AU)

Randomized control trial follow-up: Online program and waiting period for unmarried parents in Title IV-D Court.

Despite a lack of research on parent programs for separating unmarried parents, many judicial officers mandate participation. Rudd, Holtzworth-Munroe, Reyome, Applegate, and D'Onofrio (2015) conducted the only randomized controlled trial of any online parent program for separating parents, ProudToParent.org (PTP), and related court processes (e.g., having a waiting period between the establishment of paternity and the court hearing regarding child related issues vs. having the hearing the same day). They recruited a unique sample of 182 cases in a Title IV-D Court (i.e., a court for primarily low income parents) (Authorization of Appropriations, 42 U.S.C. § 651, 2013), in which paternity was previously contested but subsequently established via court-ordered genetic testing. Unexpectedly, cases assigned to PTP and a waiting period were the least likely to reach agreement at their court hearing. In the current study, we extend these results to examine the impact of the study conditions on relitigation in the year following the court hearing; only 11.2% of cases filed a motion, and 7.8% had a hearing. The group that was least likely to reach full initial agreement (i.e., assigned to PTP and the waiting period) were the most likely to relitigate. Further, controlling for study conditions, reaching a full agreement in the Title IV-D court decreased the odds of having a court hearing in the following year. Reaching agreements on the specific issues involved in such cases (e.g., custody, child support) reduced the likelihood of both motions and hearings in the year after the Title IV-D hearings. The implications of these findings are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record

Contornos da judicialização: reflexões sobre famílias recasadas e abandono afetivo / Outlines of judicialization: reflectionson remarried families and emotional abandonment / Contornos de la judicialización: reflexiones sobre familias reconstituidas y abandono afectivo

Este artigo buscou articular duas pesquisas que se situam na perspectiva da psicologia jurídica e que tomam como objetos de estudo questões referentes à família na esfera da justiça. O objetivo principal desta escrita é analisar os contornos que caracterizam o movimento de judicialização nas demandas de famílias recasadas e de abandono afetivo. De maneira geral, a judicialização pode ser compreendida como o movimento de expansão dos poderes judiciários em questões que antes eram resolvidas em outros espaços. Quanto às famílias recasadas, identificou-se o caminho das jurisprudências para a resolução de solicitações que não estão contempladas na legislação. Contudo, nos relatos dos entrevistados, verificou-se a busca por soluções sem recorrer ao Judiciário, o que difere da proposta encontrada no referencial teórico de criação de legislação específica para atender a essa configuração familiar. Quanto ao abandono afetivo, a análise dos aspectos vinculados à produção e comprovação dessa demanda no sistema jurídico aponta para a dificuldade da medição dos danos e da relação com a ausência de afeto, além do importante recorte de gênero, que posiciona diferentemente as figuras parentais e define funções específicas para cada um. Dessa forma, conclui-se que o movimento de judicialização reflete e ao mesmo tempo forja as demandas, denotando uma mudança social na maneira como a sociedade lida com seus impasses familiares.

This paper aims to articulate two studies in the overview of Legal Psychology and taking as objects of study issues relating to the family in the sphere of justice. The main purpose of this paper is to analyze the outlines that characterize the movement of judicialization on the demands of remarried families and emotional abandonment. In general, judicialization can be understood as the movement of expansion of judicial powers to matters that used to be resolved in other spaces. With respect to remarried families, this study identified how jurisprudence can provide a way to resolve demands that are not covered by the legislation. However, respondents' reports indicated that they look for solutions without resorting to court, which differs from the proposal found on the theoretical reference to formulate specific legislation to address this family configuration. In regards to emotional abandonment, the analysis of aspects related to the production and validation of this demand by the legal system highlights the difficulty to measure damage and its relationship with absence of affection, in addition to the important gender approach, that assigns different positions and specific roles for each parental figure. Therefore, we conclude that the judicialization trend reflects and at the same time forges demands, denoting a social change in the way society deals with family impasses.

Este artículo tiene por objeto articular dos estudios que se encuentran en la perspectiva de la Psicología Forense, teniendo como objeto de estudio las cuestiones relacionadas con la familia en el ámbito de la justicia. El objetivo principal es analizar los contornos que caracterizan el movimiento de la judicialización de las demandas de las familias reconstituidas y abandono afectivo. En términos generales, puede entenderse la judicialización como el movimiento de expansión de los poderes judiciales en los asuntos que se resolvieron en otros espacios. En cuanto a las familias reconstituidas se identificó el camino de la jurisprudencia para solucionar las solicitudes que no están cubiertas por la legislación. Sin embargo, en los reportes de los encuestados se encontró la búsqueda de soluciones sin recurrir a los tribunales, lo que difiere de la propuesta que se encuentra en el marco teórico de creación de una legislación específica para satisfacer esta configuración familiar. En cuanto al abandono afectivo, el análisis de los aspectos relacionados con la producción y prueba de esta demanda en el sistema legal denota la dificultad de medir el daño y la relación con la ausencia de afecto, más allá del importante enfoque de género, que diferencia la colocación de las figuras parentales y define las funciones específicas de cada uno. Por lo tanto, se concluye que el movimiento de judicialización refleja y, al mismo tiempo forja las demandas, lo que denota un cambio social en la forma en que la sociedad aborda los estancamientos de la familia.

Legislative provisions related to marriage and divorce of persons with mental health problems: a global review.

Realization of right to marry by a person is an exercise of personal liberty, even if concepts of marriage and expectations from such commitment vary across cultures and societies. Once married, if an individual develops mental illness the legal system often starts to discriminate against the individual. There is no doubt that every individual's right to marry or remain married is regulated by their country's family codes, civil codes, marriage laws, or divorce laws. Historically mental health condition of a spouse or intending spouse has been of interest to lawmakers in a number of ways from facilitating divorce to helping the individual with mental illness. There is no doubt that there are deeply ingrained stereotypes that persons with mental health problems lack capacity to consent and, therefore, cannot enter into a marital contract of their own free will. These assumptions lead to discrimination both in practice and in law. Furthermore, the probability of mental illness being genetically transmitted and passed on to offspring adds yet another dimension of discrimination. Thus, the system may also raise questions about the ability of persons with mental health problems to care, nurture, and support a family and children. Internationally, rights to marry, the right to remain married, and dissolution of marriage have been enshrined in several human rights instruments. Domestic laws were studied in 193 countries to explore whether laws affected the rights of people with mental illness with respect to marriage; it was found that 37% of countries explicitly prohibit marriage by persons with mental health problems. In 11% (21 countries) the presence of mental health problems can render a marriage void or can be considered grounds for nullity of marriage. Thus, in many countries basic human rights related to marriage are being flouted.

Beliefs and Recommendations Regarding Child Custody and Visitation in Cases Involving Domestic Violence: A Comparison of Professionals in Different Roles.

Research is lacking on differing perspectives regarding custody cases involving domestic violence (DV). In a survey of judges, legal aid attorneys, private attorneys, DV program workers, and child custody evaluators (n = 1,187), judges, private attorneys, and evaluators were more likely to believe that mothers make false DV allegations and alienate their children. In response to a vignette, evaluators and private attorneys were most likely to recommend joint custody and least likely to recommend sole custody to the survivor. Legal aid attorneys and DV workers were similar on many variables. Gender, DV knowledge, and knowing victims explained many group differences.

'I don't need an eye for an eye': Women's responses to intimate partner violence in Sierra Leone and Liberia.

This paper explores the possibilities for agency in intimate partner violence (IPV) situations from the perspective of women in Sierra Leone and Liberia using focus group discussions (N groups = 14, N participants = 110) and individual interviews (N = 20). Findings identify multiple interrelated factors influencing the decision-making of women experiencing IPV. At the individual level, emotional factors and women's knowledge of their rights and options influence their decision-making. At the relational level, the role of neighbours, family and friends is crucial, both for emotional support and practical assistance. At the community level, more formal structures play a role, such as chiefs and women's groups, though their effectiveness varies. At the structural level are barriers to effective responses, including a poorly functioning criminal justice system and a social system in which children often stay with fathers following separation or divorce. Strong cultural beliefs operate to keep women in abusive relationships. We identify implications for prevention and response services and make practice recommendations. Since the desire of most women experiencing IPV was to live in peace with their husbands, interventions should respect women's priorities by focusing more on prevention and interventions to end the violence, rather than solely assisting women to leave violent relationships.

Creating social policy to support women's agency in coercive settings: A case study from Uganda.

Many emphasise the need for policies that support women's agency in highly coercive settings, and the importance of involving target women in public deliberation to inform policy design. The Ugandan Marriage and Divorce Bill seeks to strengthen women's agency in marriage, but has faced many obstacles, including objections from many women themselves in public consultations. We explore key stakeholders' accounts of the difficulties facing the Bill's progress to date, through focus groups with 24 rural and urban men and women, interviews with 14 gender champions in government, non-governmental organisations and legal sectors, and 25 relevant media and radio reports. Thematic analysis revealed an array of representations of the way the Bill's progress was shaped by the public consultation process, the nature of the Ugandan public sphere, the understanding and manipulation of concepts such as 'culture' and 'custom' in public discourse, the impact of economic inequalities on women's understandings of their gendered interests and low women's trust in the law and the political process. We discuss the complexities of involving highly marginalised women in public debates about gender issues and highlight possible implications for conceptualising agency, gender and social change as tools for gender policy and activism in extreme inequality.

Mediación familiar, garantía para custodias compartidas satisfactorias / No disponible

La custodia compartida de los hijos e hijas, que nace del entendimiento y acuerdo de las partes tras la separación o divorcio, supone una corresponsabilidad en los cuidados de los menores y un reparto equitativo de los tiempos de convivencia que redunda en beneficio de los mismos al permitirles mantener un contacto continuo con ambos progenitores. Por ello se hace imprescindible una Ley Estatal de Custodia Compartida que potencie la mediación familiar como el mejor de los escenarios para pactar custodias compartidas satisfactorias

Joint custody of children, which stems from an understanding and agreement between both parties in a separation or divorce, involves shared childcare responsibilities and an equal distribution of living time which is in the children’s benefit since it allows them to maintain continuous contact with both parents. To this end a State Law on Joint Custody is indispensable since it potentiates family mediation as the best stage for arranging satisfactory joint custody

Gender, mental illness and the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955.

INTRODUCTION: Section 5(ii) of The Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 (HMA) states that under certain circumstances, mental illness is accepted as a ground for the annulment of marriage, while Section 13(1) (iii) states that mental illness is a ground for divorce. There is little data on how this provision is used and applied in matrimonial petitions. This paper assesses judicial practices in divorce cases, exploring the extent to which gender and the diagnosis of mental illness affect the decision to grant annulment or divorce. METHODS: The paper analyses judgments related to annulment and divorce at the Family Court in Pune and at the High Courts in India. RESULTS: In the Family Court at Pune, 85% of the cases were filed by husbands, who alleged that their spouse was mentally ill. Medical evidence of mental illness was presented in only 36% of the cases and in many cases, divorce/nullity was granted even in the absence of medical evidence. In 14% of the cases, nullity/divorce was granted even when both spouses were not present. Of the Family Court cases reaching the High Court, 95% were filed by male petitioners. The High Courts reversed the lower courts' judgments in 50% of the cases. DISCUSSION: Our analysis highlights the need for standardised guidelines for lower courts on what constitutes adequate medical proof of mental illness when hearing a petition related to nullity or divorce under HMA. It also provides a critical review of Section 5(ii) of HMA.

Direct and indirect effects of unilateral divorce law on marital stability.

Previous research examining the impact of unilateral divorce law (UDL) on the prevalence of divorce has provided mixed results. Studies based on cross-sectional cross-country/cross-state survey data have received criticism for disregarding unobserved heterogeneity across countries, as have studies using country-level panel data for failing to account for possible mediating mechanisms at the micro level. We seek to overcome both shortcomings by using individual-level event-history data from 11 European countries (SHARELIFE) and controlling for unobserved heterogeneity over countries and cohorts. We find that UDL in total increased the incidence of marital breakdown by about 20 %. This finding, however, neglects potential selection effects into marriage. Accordingly, the estimated effect of unilateral divorce laws becomes much larger when we control for age at marriage, which is used as indicator for match quality. Moreover, we find that UDL particularly affects marital stability in the presence of children.

The effects of domestic violence allegations on custody evaluators' recommendations.

Judges and attorneys often request professional assessments from child custody evaluators when allegations of adult domestic violence (DV) have been made, but it is unclear whether and how evaluators' recommendations are impacted by these allegations. Custody evaluators (N = 607) in the United States responded to a multiple-segment factorial vignette designed to examine the effects of 2 key factors in DV allegations: type of alleged violence (conflict-based, control-based) and counterallegations (none, mutual, and female-initiated). Effects of control- versus conflict-based DV allegations by the mother on custody recommendations were small and the majority of evaluators recommended joint custody regardless of violence type. Reported confidence in making a recommendation increased once the father responded to the allegation, but to a smaller degree when a counterallegation of mutual or female-initiated violence was made. Evaluators were no more skeptical about the potential motive of a counterallegation in the context of controlling behavior than in the context of conflict-based behavior. Overall, results indicate that most custody evaluators are not sufficiently sensitized to distinguish between situational couple violence and coercive controlling behavior, and the postseparation safety of mothers and their children may therefore be jeopardized.