The Family Law Reform Act 1995 introduced a new legal framework for handling disputes involving children whose parents are separated or divorced. A radically different template for post-divorce parenting was established by the Act, which aimed to strengthen connections between fathers and children after separation. There were two key elements in this template. The first was the childs’ right to maintain contact with, and be cared for by, both parents regardless of marital status. The second was a notion of jointly held and exercised parental responsibility. / This thesis adopted a socio-legal approach in assessing how the legislative framework was applied in practice. A particular concern was to establish how the legislative ideal would be applied in social circumstances where parenting remains gendered in practical terms. The empirical basis for this inquiry was a sample of 40 Family Court files involving children matters that were heard in the Melbourne Registries of the Court in 1999 and 2000. The research involved collecting data from each of three layers in the files; parents’ affidavit materials, psycho-social assessments of the litigating families and judicial determinations. Judicial approaches could thus be assessed in the context of the evidence on which they were based. / The analysis reveals that a complex interplay between three factors has produced different standards of ‘adequacy’ that are applied to mothers (mostly residence parents) and fathers (mostly contact parents) in contemporary Family Court decision making. The three factors are the factual backgrounds of the cases, the litigation strategies adopted by the parties and particular psychological and legal concepts that are influential in informing current legal approaches to the question of what children need. / The research shows that separated fathers are making claims for bigger roles in their children’s lives. These claims occur in the context of family histories that often involve violence, entrenched conflict, mental illnesses and substance addiction. These backgrounds prevent fathers’ aspirations for more involvement with their children being completely realised, but a commitment to maintaining father-child relationships is nonetheless strongly evident. In many instances little scrutiny is applied to the nature and quality of the relationship being sustained by contact and some mothers and children continue to be exposed to family violence under court orders. Furthermore, the legal process allows little scope for children to assume a role in determining how their parenting arrangements are worked out. Litigation places them at the centre of conflict between their parents but their opportunity to influence its outcome is very limited.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/245286 |
| Creators | Kaspiew, Rae |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | Terms and Conditions: Copyright in works deposited in the University of Melbourne Eprints Repository (UMER) is retained by the copyright owner. The work may not be altered without permission from the copyright owner. Readers may only, download, print, and save electronic copies of whole works for their own personal non-commercial use. Any use that exceeds these limits requires permission from the copyright owner. Attribution is essential when quoting or paraphrasing from these works., Open Access |
Page generated in 0.0108 seconds