Something is desperately wrong with the Family Court system. Desperately wrong.

I have just been sent a recording of a teenager screaming, pleading for help, then defiantly refusing to go to her father (who the teenager claims bashes people, and them up). After the twenty minutes, as she is being dragged away, she starts screaming “I’m calling the police… I’m calling the police”. The recording is desperate. Spine-chilling.
 

I now describe and convey the important parts. It begins out with the daughter saying quite calmly “I’m not going…” several times. The son (14) tries to protect his younger sister (12), and the mother is trying to calm them, and tell them that it’s going to be okay.

For the next few minutes, the mother, step-dad  and the kids chat. The one child discusses having to open up about their feelings to the court, and the adults are trying to normalize this transfer to their dad and make it okay.

At about 6.30 minutes into the recording, two Court officials walk into the room — a woman and a man. The man (Sheriff, I presume) says “Mum you know what this is about…” and tells the parents to leave, and that the kids will wait with them to be transferred to their dad.

The daughter starts a distressed, crying plea not to go, “I don’t want to go back to dad…” over and over again. The mother is trying to calm her daughter, trying to say it’s going to be okay. The girl starts screaming defiantly, “I’M NOT GOING BACK…”

Mother, “It’s going to be okay… it’s okay honey… I’m only a phone call away.” Nothing helps. In this screaming, the court officials can’t get a word in. As her mother prepares to leave, the screaming and shouting becomes more desperate. The older sibling chimes in angrily, distressed about his sister.

Son, “What happened?”

Daughter, “I’m killing myself there (screaming)”

Son, “What happened [in court], I want to know?”

Woman official, “This is what the judge said…”

Son, “The judge can go [description] … f*** this stupid court shit, hey”

The mother is desperately trying to calm her kids. She tries to negotiate with then, but the daughter refuses to back. She starts screaming, “Why would they send us back.”

Daughter, “I’M NOT GOING BACK. I’M RUNNING AWAY. WE’RE NOT GOING BACK. I’M NOT GIVING UP. I’M NOT GOING BACK. WHY WOULD THEY SEND ME BACK.”

Son, “I’m not going back, I’m not moving. I’m not anywhere.”

The mother again tries to calm them, that’s it’s going to be okay. But the screaming, crying, defiance continues for a solid 10 minutes or more. There’s no let up, as the officials try to enforce the separation — unsuccessfully. The daughter just refuses to go. The mother talks to the officials.

Woman official replies, “We have no choice.”

17 minutes into the recording it’s a stalemate. The kids are not moving. The daughter has probably said “I’m not going back” about 300 times. The court officials try negotiate the transfer, and explain what’s going on.

At 20 minutes, the daughter becomes desperate and starts talking about finding the police. The woman official then tries to explain, “We don’t have a choice… I know it’s very frustrating, and tries to say that they can call her mother…” Mother and the woman official are desperately trying to calm the kids.

Daughter, “I’m going to the police… I’m not going back. And if I have to I’ll run away.”

The girl defiantly says that her dad is her step-dad, and describes the neglect she suffers at her biological father’s, “He bashes us, he doesn’t feed us properly and smokes his weed… Why would the judge do that?” (They have mentioned other abuses.)

The kids become defiant — and they want to confront their father in a safe place, in front of officials. It is excruciating.

The mother and step-dad leave for another room, and you can hear the daughter screaming at her biological father in the distance. Soon the girl is back in the room, and she wants to remain with her step-dad, and is asking about the police. No amount of persuasion gets the daughter to cooperate with the court order.

The girl refuses to go, and asks to be taken to the police station.

Mother (to Sheriff), “What happens if she doesn’t go with him?”

Sheriff, “…I know it sounds awful…

Mother, “I’ll stick around… (for the transfer)

Sheriff, “It’ll only make it harder…

Mother, “But what happens if something happens going to the car?

Sheriff, “You ring child safety if you see it… otherwise the police will come, and they will enforce the order. So… I’ve dealt with this hundreds of times. Do you want that… do you want your children to witness the police coming here?“

Mother, “No, no I don’t… that’s why I’m worried about her, because the judge said he’s trying to minimize psychological damage… but this is doing exactly that.“

The daughter comes running back into the room, and refuses to go back for the transfer. The mother explains that she (the mum) can get into trouble it the orders are not followed, and explains to her daughter, “I’m no good to you if I get in trouble.”

The officials forcibly try remove her. The screaming, pleading continues begins, then she says over and over again,

Daughter, “I’m calling the police, I’m calling the police...”

Crying. They are taken away. End of recording.

The daughter ended up calling the police as security were pushing her down the court stairs towards her father’s car. The son gave up his fight after being distressed and went into survival mode, and disclosed abuse. The officials did not act. The girl was taken to acute care, and Child Safety visited her. She is now with her Aunty.

I am not religious, but God help the kids of Australia — because it appears no one else will. The same thing happened with the case in Adelaide, where the seven year old did a runner, and two police officers had to physically shove her kicking and screaming into the car. That’s abuse!

There is something terribly wrong with the Family Court culture and processes, and it seems Family and Children’s Court judges need to be re-trained. What I heard should absolutely not be happening in a civilized democracy. After my year researching the Family and Children’s Courts, and the various Child Protection Departments is seems then that we are not civilized. Far from it! The courts dealing with children seem unable to grasp what they are doing. And they are not following the law.

For one court official or Sheriff this has happened hundreds of times. How many Court officials are there across the country? This means it is happening by the THOUSANDS of cases — or rather by the tens of thousands. It seems apparent that the children’s courts are unable to adjudicate on behalf of children. 

The system is truly broken.