Mother’s Day, like many other holidays, can generate mixed feelings for many people. For some who lost their mothers, it elicits a sense of loss. For others who have conflicted relationships with their mothers, the day may present an unwelcome journey down memory lane they would rather not take. For protective moms whose efforts to protect their children from abuser fathers may not have been successful, this day presents a tornado of emotions that can bring back all the pain, loss, grief of their months, years or decades navigating the corruption, dysfunction, and cruelty of family court. Protective moms are often left out of the thoughts, gestures, and lives of anyone who isn’t in this club we didn’t ask to join. It is to those moms, we dedicate this post. Please consider listening to these episodes on survivors and advocates we have carefully curated for you to help you understand how you can better support the protective mom in your life. Learn #abusertactics, #signsofabuse, and #upstandertips.
- Episode 2: Evan Stark on “Coercive Control” as a gendered liberty crime
- Episode 9 Joan Meier of the Domestic Violence Legal Empowerment Project
- Episode 10: Barry Goldstein on Gender Bias in Family Courts
- Episode 11: Kathleen Russell of the Center for Judical Excellence
- Episode 16: en(gender)ed Reflections on family court
- Epiosde 19: Lisa Fischel-Wolovick on “Traumatic Divorce and Separation”
- Episode 28: Paul Griffin, Legal Director of Child Justice Inc. on “It’s Worse to Accuse than it is to Abuse” on Protective Parents and children who are “lost in the system”
- Episode 38: Dr. Tanja Jovanovic of the Grady Trauma Project Witnessing on how abuse is just as bad for children as being abused
- Episode 40: Health Psychologist Kathleen Kendall-Tackett On domestic violence, trauma, breastfeeding, mothering and their intersection
- Episode 67: Bethany Johnson and Maggie Quinlan On “You’re Doing It Wrong! Mothering, Media and Medical Expertise”
- Episode 68: Indra Lusero of the National Advocates for Pregnant Women on Reproductive Justice as a Human Right
- Episode 71: en(gender)ed Reflections on the weaponization of motherhood
And survivor stories…
- Episode 6: #SurvivorStories episode with “Elizabeth”
- Episode 20: #SurvivorStories Series with Rosaura Torres Thomas, author of “Abuse Hidden Behind the Badge”
- Episode 30: #SurvivorStories Series with Anita Gera on The misuse of the Hague Convention to harm children
- Episode 31: #SurvivorStories Series with “Caitlin” on the dangers of “shared parenting” for survivors & children
- Episode 32: #SurvivorStories with Lana on her “Sophie’s Choice”
- Episode 35: #SurvivorStories Series with Maria Santiago on the impact of childhood domestic violence
- Episode 37: #SurvivorStories Series with Sarah Strong on mitigating coercive parenting by an abuser
- Episode 59: #SurvivorStories series with “Ashley” on the dangers of technology–cyberstalking and surveillance
- Episode 69: #SurvivorStories Series with Jessica Ingels on courts giving custody to abusers
- Episode 70: Follow up to #SurvivorStories Series with Jessica Ingels
- Episode 97: #SurvivorStories Series with “Carol” on parenting with an abuser during COVID-19
- And, our most recent #SurvivorStories episode with Nicole Lee on domestic abuse with a disability.
Listen to these stories so you can best learn how to support the protective mother in your life.