An Auckland barrister who specialises in the family court suggests that we are not looking enough at the reasons why Bradley and Ellen Livingstone of Dunedin were killed by their father.

He says we fail families when we apply the strange notion that only fathers are potential wild beasts. He points out that women can do anything, including violence.

Anthony Morahan: Punishing dead men will do nothing for families

Protection orders are often made against fathers who are accused of being “controlling”. But women often seek protection orders to control men or to punish men for not paying what the mother considers to be enough child maintenance.

We fail families when we give tax cuts to the wealthy instead of putting money into facilities to support families. Women’s refuges are always short of money, and the few facilities for men, such as the Father and Child Trust, struggle for funding.

If fathers feel they are treated unjustly regarding contact with their children, they naturally become angry. By providing a safe environment for fathers to work through their issues and focus on what is best for their children, support groups like Father & Child listen, inform, counsel, mentor and advocate for fathers to help them avoid becoming a “wild beast”.