A young girl's death: a nation wants answers
AS AUSTRALIA and the world struggle to understand the tragic death of Darcey Freeman, age-old questions are being raised about men's emotional frailty and propensity for violent response under pressure.
Messages of anger, disbelief and shock ricocheted around the nation - on online sites and radio talkback - as Australians tried to come to terms with how a father allegedly tossed his four-year-old daughter off Melbourne's West Gate Bridge. More than 1200 stories about the tragedy were published around the world.
Experts said that Australia had begun to pay attention to men's psychological health in the past 10 years. But the means of screening potentially homicidal or violent parents involved in family court disputes was still primitive.
"A number of fathers involved in custody disputes have such a severe breakdown in reasoning and behaviour but it is not always predictable," said Dr Jennifer McIntosh, a clinical psychologist specialising in high-conflict divorces.
She said sometimes potential child homicides showed warning signs. Men who were controlling and coercive in a marriage could snap after separation, and these were often the quiet types who played their cards close to their chest.
"To their friends and colleagues all can appear to be OK," she said.
It has been recognised for many years that men suffer a deep sense of humility and powerlessness when their marriages fail but often see it as a weakness to reach out for help.
Laura Kennan, general manager of clinical support at Crisis Support Services, said traditionally men had been stoic in the face of emotional crises. In losing their wife, they often lost their only confidante and felt they had no one to turn to.
The service said more needed to be done to advertise counselling services for men.
In response to strong lobbying from men's groups, the Howard government changed family law, set up Family Relationship Centres, funded men's health services, and advocated a less adversarial approach to custody disputes. Some critics believe the changes went too far in men's favour and underplayed the dangers some women and children faced.
Dr McIntosh said the wrong kind of help was still being offered to some separating couples that pushed them into deeply adversarial court proceedings which could tip an emotionally unstable parent over the edge.
Heather Nancarrow, director of the Queensland Centre for Domestic and Family Violence Research, said violence was always a choice. Some men killed their children as the ultimate act of violence against their former partner.
"The main problem is the Family Court process needs better ways to assess the risks to women and children," she said.
Family and friends were trying to absorb the news of Darcey's death yesterday. At St Joseph's Primary School, where Darcey was about to start, parents said the child's death had affected everyone in the community. "It's an extremely sad time and we are very shocked with what's happened and our thoughts and prayers are just extended to the family in this very difficult time for them, " the principal, Pam Bishop, told the Ten Network.
Darcey's father, Arthur Freeman, 35, of Hawthorn, has been charged with her murder. He has been remanded in custody until May 21. The court heard he was in an acute psychiatric state and there were concerns he may harm himself.
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Comments made by Fathers rights members will be rejected. There is enough propaganda on the net especially the distorted stats that portray mothers as the major murderers of children. Good stats include domestic violence related homicides where the mother is often dragged in as an accessory or blamed by the perpetrator who often murders the child to punish the mother. Fathers rights terrorists do enough bombarding of forums and blogs often in an attempt to cover the true outrages of their agenda: to control women and children as property. Anonymums in no way promotes these acts of terrorism nor does Anonymums promote any other contributers to violence.
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