I’ve just listened to a [sorry, this item is no longer available from radionz – Admin] http://podcast.radionz.co.nz/aft/aft-20070807-1607-The_Panel_part_1-064.mpx podcast of Dr Vivian Roberts talking about child abuse to Jim Moira on ‘The Panel’, broadcast on National Radio, Wednesday 8th August. Viv is a general practitioner in Hawkes Bay and a Fathers Coalition representative. He claims, very persuasively and with an excellent use of statistical data, that the bias against fathers in the NZ Family Court contributes to child abuse.
Photo: Dr Viv Roberts.

With him on ‘The Panel’ was Julia Hartley Moore private investigator and author of the recent best selling book “Suddenly Single”. She also had some interesting insights:

…little children are given a lawyer and often those lawyers become very biased on one side – very much pro one or the other – and we often find out they turn out to be very pro the mother – and then when you go to court it’s like the child’s lawyer is second chairing for her lawyer… there’s a lot of fathers who get a raw deal.

When Dr Roberts demonstrated how “Violence against men is often hidden”, Hartley Moore immediately agreed. The interview [a 12MB download for those of you on dial-up – right click and save the whole file before trying to listen] is well worth listening to.

There are a whole bunch of videos made by Rd Viv Roberts about MEN SUICIDE AND DEPRESSION on Noelle Papillon’s site.