Stereotypes Of Women In Family Courts

Family courts are a crucial part of the judicial system that handles cases involving child custody, child support, and family violence. Men often have difficulty fighting for custody of their children and child support in family courts because of an extreme bias within the courtroom towards women. Historically, women are the stereotypical, picture-perfect mothers and this often causes bias in the courtroom causing judges to think women would be the better-suited and more compassionate parent to become the custody holder. In the past, women have been the traditional caretakers of children and the household and because of this, they are assumed to be a more fit parent and are more likely to gain parental rights in court. In the family courts,

Due to their more violent, rough, and less attentive upbringing, men are stereotyped to be more inclined to react to a trigger and lash out at aggression. While on the other hand, women are less likely to engage in aggressive behavior even if provoked. Courts look at these overall statistics and because of this stereotype might determine that because men have a higher percentage of violent outbreaks than women, fathers are not as qualified and capable of taking care of their children, giving women an automatic advantage in the family court system. However, it is found that “Girls are more likely to use [violence] when the prospects for the reward are apparent”, “or to use indirect aggression to hurt others or obtain their goals” (Pagelow 350). This proves that generalizations about gender cannot affect the specific cases of family court and not all men fall under their violent stereotypes and can be good fathers. Crafted over decades, family roles determine the family member’s jobs and positions within a household. Fathers are expected to take on the role of the breadwinner and head of the