Who knew you could beat your wife, rape your kids and get custody of them while putting your wife in jail. I didn’t think that was possible until I started hearing thousands of similar stories in Family Court where that exact thing is happening all over the country. Child sexual abuse is an epidemic and the perpetrators are getting custody of the kids with the help of kangaroo courts.
Those in the movement know about this crisis. But the general public doesn’t. So how do you get your story into the media?
Garland Waller spoke at the Battered Mother’s Custody Conference about how to get these yucky stories into the media. She calls it: The Yuck Factor: Why the Mainstream Media hasn’t covered Family Court Injustice and it certainly is yukky.
This is a crisis and many protective mothers “freak out” in court, send email blasts to lists in ALL CAPS, put long notices up on their Facebook pages, send out press releases with the “crazy story” and all the gory details and all this does is label the woman as nuts. If you flail, scream, and sway the banner of injustice in and around the court and the media it is extremely likely that you will be labeled crazy and nothing will be done and yet another story be silenced and yet another child will continue to be raped.
Garland Waller shared some great tips that you should know in getting your story out there. If you have made the above mistakes before, remember that you’re not wrong, you just didn’t know the rules.
Think about your story as if you are writing a script. You need a two-minute elevator pitch. I share ways to write over on my site.
Write your story in a 1-4 page treatment like you were pitching it to a producer (the media and Hollywood are very similar). This does not involve coming to conclusions like he’s a rapist, he’s a jerk, he’s an abuser. You are simply telling the story. Let the reporter come to the conclusion. Create a packet of information with you story treatment, a one page summary, copies of medical records, court records and statements from experts and lawyers. Have that packet ready and printed like you would have a press kit. That way you have it when you come across anyone who may be able to help you.
You have less than 10 seconds to get their attention.
- Tell story in less than a minute
- Share how it fits into national scandal
- Share more national statistics
- Add a new fact, something about your case, and be sure to have evidence!
Example:
A man rapes and beats his wife and sexually assaults his little girl. He then fights for and gets full custody of his daughter and his wife goes to jail. This is happening in courts across the country. The offenders are using PAS (Parent Alienation Syndrome) and it is something that many courts believe in even though it is considered junk science. 56,000 children had to go live with their perpetrators who got full custody because of family court orders last year. This happened to me. My daughter was raped by her father. She told. Here are the medical records and her statement that she made to the child advocate and police.
Notice that the above example does not going on and on, does not provide all the details, it is calm and focused and states the facts. Don’t come to the conclusion for the reporter, let them come to their own conclusions. Instead of saying he’s a batterer - say the child has a broken wrist or whatever the ailment is and provide medical records as backup. Let the reporters come to their own conclusion.
What to know when calling a reporter:
KISS – Keep it Short and Simple
- If you feel crazy – don’t call. Meditate Breathe Relax
- Accept that good things may happen and they may not.
- Find something in common (agree that we have to protect kids)
- Summarize the greater issues and national scandal in one min
- Relate it to your issue
- Ask the reporter if they have any questions
- Prepare them for battle. Let them know that
- Ask them if there is anything they need
- Encourage them to do their homework. If they don’t, the child will be raped again
- Prepare them for battle. Let them know that as they do their research, the “alleged offender” his legal team, the GAl and their “expert” may say some strange things about you.
- Ask the reporter to clarify with you and to really do their research.
Garland Waller states that the failure of mainstream media to cover family court injustice and the fact that abusers get custody must be laid squarely at media’s feet. If the media can’t get ratings, they want awards. This is not about doing the right thing, it’s about money. The media simply appears fair and balanced.
Let the journalists know that if they don’t do their homework – more children will be abused due to a very corrupt and unexposed system. Before you close – let them know that a friend of yours in a media let you know that that this is the kind of story where reporters win publizers. They care about ratings and they care about awards.
From my perspective and being in the media, many times they do exploit you and your story. Producers and reporters can appear to be your friend and then misquote you, exploit you, misrepresent you and potentially do a horrible job. But getting these stories into the media is key because for now most people still have TV.
The online media is more powerful than the television. Social Media is the state of Now. That’s why I teach you on my site to twitter and become more active in the community. We need Unity and there is not Unity without U.
May you heal, reveal and appeal. Much love to all of you getting your stories out there. The Survivor Manual is a place to find the how-to’s on surviving to inspire you to move forward and live a joyful life.
