HOAX: BBC News Article Makes Numerous Claims that Cannot be Verified, Excludes Key Facts

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Contact: Rebecca Hain

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HOAX: BBC News Article Makes Numerous Claims that Cannot be Verified, Excludes Key Facts

September 12, 2023 – Paris Mayo of Herefordshire was found guilty in June of murdering her newborn son by fracturing his skull, and then stuffing cotton balls down his throat until he suffocated. The woman was sentenced to at least 12 years in prison for the heinous crime (1). The case of Paris Mayo highlights the tragic fact that globally, mothers commit 72% of all infanticides (2).

But an article recently published by BBC News gives a very different impression – that only fathers represent a risk to their children.

“Family Courts: Children Forced into Contact with Fathers Accused of Abuse” (3) describes the experiences of five women who allegedly died following contentious family court proceedings. Their deaths under such circumstances would have attracted extensive media coverage. But extensive internet searches failed to uncover a single account that could verify the statements made about these women — or that these women even existed.

Likewise, the BBC essay cites the “research” of University of Manchester lecturer Elizabeth Dalgarno. But Dalgarno declined to provide a copy of her study, despite repeated email requests. Not a single claim she makes in the BBC article could be confirmed by other published studies.

The BBC article probes the issue of shared parenting after divorce, and the problem of parents who seek to undermine equal parenting arrangements by alienating their children from the other parent.

Unfortunately, the BBC article strategically excludes important relevant facts:

Extensive research confirms that children do far better in school, in their careers, and in life when they have full contact with both parents after divorce (4).
A YouGov survey revealed eight of 10 persons in England support shared parenting (5).
The British Crime Survey found that men and women experience domestic violence at equal rates (6). Shared parenting reduces conflict and leads to lower rates of domestic violence (7).
Hundreds of peer-reviewed studies conducted in 32 countries around the world confirm the problem of parental alienation (8).

In addition, the BBC article includes no mention of the experiences of adults who as children had been alienated from one of their parents (9, 10), or of the perspectives of fathers themselves (11).

In short, “Family Courts: Children Forced into Contact with Fathers Accused of Abuse,” makes no pretense of being balanced, fair, or accurate. The essay is a rebuke of traditional notions of journalistic ethics.

At best, the BBC News article is an exercise in gender propaganda. At worst, the article is a total fabrication.

The Domestic Abuse and Violence International Alliance – DAVIA — consists of 108 member organizations from 34 countries in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, Latin America, and North America. DAVIA seeks to ensure that domestic violence and abuse polices are science-based, family-affirming, and gender-inclusive. https://endtodv.org/davia/

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