The hit on Greg seemed to have done the trick - for now at least - because all was quiet within the vicinity of Sarah’s house for the next two weeks.  Nevertheless she still intended to pursue the injunction proceedings and instructed her solicitor to progress them.

Ms Melanie Morris, the police Domestic Violence counsellor, paid Sarah’s family a much welcomed visit.  She listened with intent as David and Anna each recalled their horrific experiences at the mercy of their savage stepfather-to-be and then solemnly turned to Sarah and stated:

            “My advice to you would be not to bother pressing charges for child cruelty.  Take it from me, I deal with these same sort of stories over and over and over again and I see countless cases like yours and much, much worse ones.  I see kids like these giving evidence to the police - interrogated ruthlessly - and it all goes nowhere and the kids have had to relive their inhuman brutal nightmare.  And for what?  It is next to impossible to bring child abuse charges because kids are just not listened to, evidence from them is considered unreliable and the police just brand most kids liars anyway.  It is a really long, drawn out procedure.  I’ve seen kids almost broken by it, and then at the end of it all…. Nothing.  It’s more or less the same story for women trying to get men convicted for assault.  Men just get let off time and again.  Your best bet is to just be there for your children when they want to talk.”

            Sarah listened awestruck, “So you’re saying this is a massive widespread problem and police refuse to help the victims?  Men are being given the nod to continue violating their spouses and children?  Where does the children’s law come into all this?”

            “Hah, that’s the biggest joke of all.  The courts side with dangerous men, insisting that it is in the child’s best interests to have substantial contact with the father, no matter what his past record,” Melanie informed her.  “I talk from personal experience here.  My son, aged six, pleaded and begged me not to make him see his father, but the judge ordered that he was to see my ex-husband every weekend.  His father was convicted of actual bodily harm - he was a regular wife-beater, but he was given a paltry one hundred pounds fine!  He should’ve had at least six months behind bars.  He was violent towards my son, who was absolutely petrified of his father.  Yet I was forced to hand over my clinging, screaming, pleading little boy for contact.  It was heartbreaking.  The law is not about the kids and their protection; it is about pacifying the men.  It just gives them the perfect opportunity to continue calling the shots and of course they’re even more frenzied because they are livid that their woman has dared to leave them.  So they’re all out for revenge and they know they’re never going to be stopped and brought to book, so there is no deterrent.  I used to spend hours screaming at my solicitor, who half the time seemed to be representing my ex, not me.  I even got a dressing down just because I decided to move away.”

            Astounded, Sarah commented, “Christ, that’s scary.  So there’s no point leaving a dangerous and belligerent bloke because when the proverbial ‘shit’ hits the fan, the Authorities are on his side?”   She then asked, “So these malignant control freaks are continuously being given the green light by our so-called judges; effectively allowing men to persistently break the law and violate women?  Shame on those responsible who sit in judgement and shame on lawyers who protect the guilty; those who put money before morality.”

            “Here, here.  But that’s about the size of it, I’m afraid,” Melanie sighed, “In fact I know of lots of women who don’t bother leaving their overbearing, oppressive men folk, saying that they prefer to keep the status quo since the system badly lets women down.  Women stay with manipulative, aggressive men because they fear losing their children or they worry about their kids being ill-treated during contact.  I know of one woman who did leave her pig of a husband to later find the judge awarding him regular, substantial contact to her children, despite their vehement protests.  She couldn’t bear seeing them go through such hell, so she returned to him, in order to protect her kids.  He didn’t want the kids, you see [as most don’t], he just wanted to continue being a part of her life and to continue controlling her through threats and intimidation.  Once he’d got her back, he virtually ignored the kids and they avoided him like the plague.  I’ve heard other stories, of Court Welfare Officers deliberately putting words into children’s mouths so that the impression is of mum and dad hating each other’s guts and of both using the kids as weapons, which is a world of difference from the truth - of kids being abused, usually by the man and of living endangered lives.”

            “So it really is literally a man’s world then?”  Sarah muttered.

            “’Fraid so.  We are the underclass,” murmured Ms Morris.