this post was submitted on 15 Jan 2025
16 points (100.0% liked)
Melbourne
2184 readers
41 users here now
This community is a place created for the people of Melbourne and Victoria. We are a positive, welcoming and inclusive community. We might not agree about everything, but we always strive to stay civil and respectful.
The focus of our discussions is based around things that affect Victoria, but we are also free to discuss our local perspective on wider issues. Or head to the regular Daily Random Discussion thread to talk about anything.
Ongoing discussions, FAQs & Resources (still under construction)
Adoption Certificate for Nellie, the Daily Thread numbat (with thanks to @Catfish)
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
I'm putting this under a NSFW, as it may be triggering for some of us. Concerns a situation that I've become aware of at work. I'm not sure I have all the details either. But there's a moral dilemma here that I would welcome some feedback on.
messy divorce case
A really messy divorce case. Husband accused by wife of child abuse, which he denies. Kids (2 aged 6 & 9) have been examined by psychs and doctors and don't show signs of abuse. Barring a claim by the elder child that Dad won't let him have more than one fizzy drink per day. Both kids are scared shitless of their mum, who is a diagnosed paranoid schizophrenic who refuses to take medication. When in her custody, kids have twice taken themselves down to the Salvos begging for shelter overnight. Kids now in husband's custody exclusively, and doing well in school.Wife has sprayed accusations of child abuse across several forms of social media targeting : 1) husband, 2) her dentist, 3) kids' doctor, 4) her doctor, 5) two teachers at the kids' school, 6) four of her neighbours. All 'targets' have been investigated by the police specialist unit, and all except one have been cleared of any such crimes.
However, the dentist, doctors, and the teachers have all been sacked from their place of employment, and the dentist's wife has been forcefully requested to resign from her tennis club and other social groups. And none were re-instated when the accusations turned out not to have any evidence supporting them.
One neighbour is still under investigation, but the others have been cleared. I don't know if there's been any further effects on them.
Given that several of the accused persons have suffered very real financial and social harm from accusations that may never be truly forgotten so long as the web exists. And they will be under suspicion for the rest of their lives and probably their families as well. Even though they've been cleared of wrongdoing.
Question for the DT hive mind : should the wife (who is clearly a very damaged person) be sued for libel/damages for her accusations? Has she committed a crime here? Should she get some sort of penalty for making false accusations? Or should she get off scot free because she's mentally ill and presumably not in full control of her actions?
Yes I've muddied up some of the details for privacy reasons, but the basic dynamics are as accurate as I can make them.
I agree with Catfish regarding public record. It’s a difficult situation, because this is probably one of the few accusations in life that can one can never truly wash off, as awful as it is.
(I guess it’s up to the individual. I would probably want to if it were me, but I’d also want to weigh up the costs. Would it be worth it in the end after all that has already happened? Or would I just want to move on and put it all behind me?)
How far do we split the moral hair, so to speak? Would she have done those things still if she was medicated? What level mental illness excuses harm (which I guess is what the law decides)? Is it possible the medication could have prevented this happening in the first place?