I had profound feelings of anger and sadness, but the part of divorce that finally drove me deep into depression and anxiety was being investigated for false allegations of child sexual abuse for nearly a year. I'm OK now but those feelings are always with me and can resurface when triggered.
The only punitive measures against these types of allegations is that they get ignored in divorce court and that is ridiculous. Where someone can prove that they've suffered financially and emotionally due to false criminal allegations...serious penalties need to be levelled. This should include potential criminal prosecution and civil fines.
In general, one of the biggest issues with family court is that when someone blatantly lies to gain advantage...which lawyers are often complicit in...nothing really happens. So its actually sometimes advantageous to lie. Over time, the tangible penalty may be a loss of credibility over a long period but in the short term, if they get away with it, it can be very advantageous. More serious penalties against litigants and especially legal professionals need to be levelled when someone knowingly files false accusations in affidavits. It would make someone think twice about piling their statements full of crap.
Comment