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The idealized post-separation family in Australian family law: A dangerous paradigm in cases of domestic violence
Amanda Shea Hart
Faculty of Sciences, Engineering and Health, Central Queensland University, QLD
Dale Bagshaw
School of Social Work and Social Policy, University of South Australia, SA
Abstract
This article presents the findings of an in-depth discourse analysis of 20 First Instance unpublished judgments, delivered over a 5 and a half-year period from one registry of the Family Court of Australia, in contested contact cases where the presence of domestic violence was acknowledged by the Court.
A number of dominant themes from the judgments
intersected to show how many judicial determinations about children's 'best
interests' were underpinned by conservative values that emphasised the
importance of the fathers' presence for children's future wellbeing and
development.
In most of the judgments
analysed, the fathers' history of violence was readily excused or ignored,
mothers were blamed for failing to support father-child contact, the voices of
the children involved were often discounted and a dominant paradigm of the
idealised post-separation family took precedence over the special needs of the
children.
There was little visible consideration of the potential or current effects of domestic violence on the children concerned.
Keywords
gender, post-separation parenting, child protection, domestic violence, Family Law, children’s best interests
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