Valerie,you raise a good question about the list of accredited experts . I was refused to have a psychologist Dr Anderson, they say they are not properly qualified. All the parties have to agree on who can come into the court here in the UK in closed courts.
The families are very much on the same wave length now as they question why they will not let in other experts who look on paper to have all the right qualifications to match the so called not so expert witness.

Valarie is so right ; it is so very important to really inform yourself of the issues here and be well versed in them.
Valarie; I admire your tenacity.

Lyndamac

This whole question of experts needs to be clarified. I wonder if there is a list?

According to the Family Court of Australia brochure entitled "Family Reports", an Expert Witness is perhaps a psychiatrist who can provide assessments, diagnoses and information which cannot be provided by a Family Consultant.

Family Consultants are defined as qualified social workers or psychologists with expertise in working with families and children. (I don't think anyone except qualified child psychiatrists i.e. doctors with a specialist qualification, should be allowed to do this job).

The selection of the Family Consultant in my case was random as apparently no one else would do it. I had no say in it. The person chosen (whose opinion turned out to be the only one considered) made unfounded judgements (equivalent to a diagnosis) about my character and motives.

That person and later the Family Court also ignored the voluntarily sought, very favourable Report of the highly qualified Forensic Psychiatrist. Having changed solicitors, I now have a copy of his Affidavit WHICH WAS DATED A WEEK AFTER THE COURT HEARING which turned out so badly for me and for the children, through lack of information and bad legal advice.

My family was in UK when this began in 2007. My solicitor there would not let me include anything about the maltreatment in my Affidavit/statement. She said it wasn't relevant.

It was extremely relevant to me, and it was the only reason I had engaged a solicitor. If my grandchildren were being cared for properly, I would not be pursuing this. Excluding me is part of the maltreatment.

I am pleased to hear the situation in UK is improving.

In both UK and Australia I felt that the solicitors have to arrange the evidence in such a way as to get a certain result.

Valerie,
I have to agree with you the solicitors have to arrange it ..........

I had big gun lawyers in Principle registry , my ex would never have got custody of our son ,only for the amount of public funding thrown at this case.
I do not get to see my son now I have walked rather than subject him to the 1 hour a month in a contact centre.

My ex was violent I made a poor witness back then . I know better now.

Does the procedure of the Family Court and legal system alter according to who the abuser is alleged to be. For example: my daughter & I were abused by husband. Despite reports to Police, Mental Health, DOCS,Belinda Neale, school etc, and each concur that it did in fact happen - nothing more is said, done or suggested.
OK - unknown territory for me as no experience, but will keep trying.

HOWEVER - friend is violently raped in front of her daughter, moves to different refuges pursued by bail-breaking perpetrator & once in safe place the trouble starts in earnest.
Teen daughter publicly self-harming & needing help. Counselors brought in - who decide problem due to protective mother (who will not let possibly disturbed,& definitely underaged daughter go clubbing/drinking). Nothing to do with 6 hour ordeal witnessed 5 months previously.

Hospital admission + heavy sedation given to 14 yr old, after her own rape 6 months later. She responds with severe allergy. Following concerned comments by other patients, mother complains against Consultant Psychiatrist. DOCS take daughter into care, Child Court appoints Legal Aid solicitor for both, mother now struggling to get any help. Has only been allowed to meet lawyer once, no information on court dates which are postponed due to his inactivity. The original criminal case v. Perpetrator reduced as DOCS/Mental Health refused to answer DPP's requests, therefore daughter could not attend court.Daughter and mother reduced to meeting once a fortnight under strict supervision (carer stands one metre close at all times).

Who is the Abuser here, and who are the Qualified Child Consultants?At the DOCS care meeting they claim she is being treated for Post Traumatic Stress. The Consultant Psychiatrist claims she suffers with Over Protective Mother. If the former, why cant she return home from DOCS? If the latter how do we disprove this? Despite continually increasing the amount of sedatives for her, no DV or Sexual Abuse therapy has been delivered.

Lama you identify a very important piece of this puzzle. The lack of proper education of professionals in recognising and responding to traumatizing abuses is ordinary, so survivors' symptoms and behaviour are misrecognised and misunderstood and get poor unhelpful, often damaging, responses. Add to this a current (and continuing) climate of woman and mother blame amongst practitioners - the invisibility of perpetrators has a long history. This occurs in the criminal justice system (where victims are blamed for being victimised), in the family law system (where victims are held to be vengeful, pathological liars) and in the civil law system (where victims are diverted from victims of crime recognition and compensation for a piece of paper which says he shouldn't hit you). Threats and abuse also create compliant responses from professionals who don't want to be a target themselves.see judith herman's book 'trauma and recovery' for a useful text on trauma. also bancroft and silverman 'the batterer as parent' which looks at how perpetrators impact family dynamics.