“In order to escape accountability for his crimes, the perpetrator does everything in his power to promote forgetting. If secrecy fails, the perpetrator attacks the credibility of his victim. If he cannot silence her absolutely, he tries to make sure no one listens.”

The Colorado Judicial system is actively failing to protect women and children from known abusers, perpetuating a deeply dangerous and negligent standard of justice. Despite clear and repeated evidence of violence, coercive control, psychological abuse, and physical abuse, the courts routinely prioritize a rigid 50/50 custody model over the safety and well-being of victims. In counties like El Paso, where the “good ol’ boy network” thrives unchecked, abusers with extensive histories of domestic violence, child endangerment, and even gun-related threats against former partners are rewarded with equal parenting time and decision-making authority. This is not a flaw—it is a systemic betrayal. The judiciary minimizes egregious offenses, allows criminal pleas to be expunged with time instead of accountability, and dismisses well-documented abuse as irrelevant. In doing so, Colorado courts send a chilling message: that the rights of abusers outweigh the safety of their victims. This is not justice—it is state-sanctioned re-traumatization.

When the judicial system treats domestic violence protection orders as mere "civil" matters rather than the serious criminal offenses they are, it sends a dangerously clear message: abuse is not only tolerated, it is institutionalized. By continuing to grant men with documented histories of abuse 50/50 custody, the courts normalize violence within families and prioritize the illusion of fairness over the safety and psychological well-being of children and survivors. This systemic failure reinforces the belief that abuse has no real consequence, teaching future generations that power, control, and harm can coexist with parental rights. Forcing children to live with their abuser is not neutrality—it is complicity. It tells victims that their pain is irrelevant and tells abusers that their actions carry no weight. This is not justice; it is a generational cycle of sanctioned harm, perpetuated by a system more concerned with appearances than protection.

Judges in Colorado who routinely mandate victims of domestic violence to attend joint counseling sessions with their abusers demonstrate a shocking and dangerous lack of understanding of the abuse dynamic. Forcing a survivor to sit across from their abuser under the guise of “co-parenting” or “conflict resolution” is not only retraumatizing—it is a blatant act of judicial ignorance and negligence. This practice hands abusers yet another tool of manipulation and control, sanctioned by the very system meant to protect victims. The willful ignorance displayed by the judiciary in these decisions perpetuates the abuser’s power, silences the survivor, and reinforces the toxic narrative that abuse is merely a disagreement to be resolved jointly. It is appalling that in a state that claims to value justice, the court system actively colludes with abusers by placing victims in harm’s way and calling it progress.