The Backlash: Fathers4Equality Attack Award Winning Journalist

  Caroline Overington is well known for winning the Sir Keith Murdoch Award for Journalism and the Walkley Award for investigative journalism for her coverage of the AWB scandal in November 2006.  In 2007, she received much criticism after an email joke with a minister went wrong and negative press was released against her with unsubstantiated claims.  Whilst journalism was never meant to be easy, Caroline persists in exposing some of the most difficult issues of our times: what goes on behind those Family Court doors.  Its all too easy to write complimentary articles on Fathers rights groups that are commonly known for their intimidation and contempt for women.  

There are times where it is frustrating to see undeserving sympathy amounted towards these bullies and as anyone who has braved against such behaviors know that it takes a lot of courage to stand up to them.  If fathers Rights had it their way, there would be no objection to violence against women and children, women would be forced without question to submit to their demands.  In an ideal FR world, DV deaths would be explained with an "accident" and children would be seen and not heard.  

There is an exception to that.  There are a few strong women and men who know that this is beyond ethics to the extent of cruelty that have ignored the constant intimidation, abuse and degradation to break the silence of these horrors.  Whilst we do not agree with all of the articles that Caroline Overington has written, her writing on the mothers and children's experience in Family Court matters reveals an underlying truth that has been overlooked by other journalists.  

Writing on the fathers rights side is like writing how banks are wonderful for taking the fees from pensioners or students.  Its a truth from a more powerful group that thrives upon exploiting the powerless.  

Caroline Overington has been the subject of hatred from the fathers rights groups since her series of articles about a mother who was isolated by a court order.  

Some of the statements in the Fathers4Equality group are:

"It is any wonder she is now spearheading a campaign for the violent seething bitch brigade" - Peter Fathers4Equality

"Caroline Overington continues her assault on separated fathers and their 

children." Tom Knoll

From: ashvani_patil

To: fathers4equality@ yahoogroups. com

Sent: Friday, May 29, 2009 12:20 PM

Subject: [fathers4equality] Deceptive-unbalance d article in "The Australian" - complain now

Deceptive & unbalanced reporting in "The Australian"

Parent law ties women to men - Caroline Overington - 29-May-09

* Read the Deceptive & unbalanced Article
* Now read the Judgment
* Comment Here
* Email your complaint to the editor

 She must be desperate to change these laws before her child custody hearing.

The Australian 3-June-09
Family Law experts slate shared-parenting
http://www.theaustr alian.news. com.au/story/ 0,25197,25580456 -26103,00. html

The Australian 3-June-09
'Flaws' in John Howard's parenting law
http://www.theaustr alian.news. com.au/story/ 0,25197,25579454 -601,00.html

Ash Patil - Fathers4Equality

An excerpt from "The Politics of Father Rights Activists – Do persistent critics of the Family Court behave in a way which stands up to scrutiny?"By M. C. Dunn,  reveals that such hatred is common:

Chief Justice Nicholson, HREOC Sex Discrimination Commissioner Pru Goward, even academics like men’s interest researcher Michael Flood are described as “the enemy”, “maggots”, labelled misandrists and often slandered using derogatory terms, sometimes with homophobic labels.  Occasionally post describe inflicting murderous desires on these individuals, particularly the Chief Justice and his colleagues (“If I could ask for my "Family Law Court Judge" (FLCJ) to be hanged”).  An example of the more extreme of emails was posted on a list moderated by a former State director of the SPCA that stated:

Posted 19/03/2004 Ozydads network

“>What about Magistrates like Lawrence of Rockingham WA who not only

>accepted false DVO's but re-established them for THREE MORE YEARS!!1

>I want to kill that cunt and god help him if I find his address”

 

Sometimes the FRAO e-lists and sites accuse the Courts of being like feminists who they see as dictators (“feminazis” or “feminazi puppeteers”) and who are accused of great crimes (“crimes against humanity”, “legal child abductors”).  Other hate rhetoric is aimed at professionals generally, especially lawyers, social workers and even police (“Lawyer-solicitor-barrister-judge scum mafia are riding on feminazi brainwashing ordinary taxpayers into believing they are neither well-paid thieves nor child abusers”). 

 

More hate speech and intimidation is reserved for single-mother and sole parents’ spokeswomen who are vilified, slandered, defamed and hated with ferocity (“face of feminazi evil”, “fucking fat slag blood-sucking liar”).   When the media allow these women to have a counter voice the hate-speech is sometimes escalated into threats and/or outright intimidation as posts on DOA escalated until FRAO, Fathers 4 Justice’s Australian Coordinator, Trevor Arthurson (who appeared in the same 60 Minutes program) sought to incite harm against Sole Parents’ Union President, Kathleen Swinbourne with a false allegation that stated “WE SHOULD REPORT HER TO THE DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY SERVICES [CHILD PROTECTION AGENCY] FOR THE WAY SHE TREATED HER SON” (DOA 30/5/04)."