The emphasis on deciding shared care arrangements should always be on children's safety and well being, The Benevolent Society CEO Richard Spencer said today (01/02/2011) in response to the latest study by the Australian Institute of Family Studies on shared care for separated families.
"The issue of most concern is how shared care arrangements affect children if they are forced to spend time with a violent or abusive parent," said Mr Spencer.
The Australian Institute of Family Studies state that: "The study shows that overall the different care arrangements did not affect the well-being of the child unless there had been a history of family violence." [emphasis added]
"The Benevolent Society believes all children have the right to feel safe and secure - the fact that up to 20% of parents surveyed, 'had safety concerns for their child because of the other parent's ongoing contact,' should concern us all.
"Decisions about parenting arrangements should be made on the basis of a thorough assessment of all the factors contributing to children's well being, rather than on a rigid 'one size fits all' approach," said Lesley Laing, author of No Way To Live, an in-depth study of the experience of mothers negotiating the family law system post separation. (1)
"One of the few studies to actually include children's voices found that almost 50 % did not feel safe in post separation living arrangements that had mostly been decided by courts, leaving them feeling powerless and hopeless about their situations." (2)
"The
Benevolent Society supports the Federal Government's proposed amendments to the Family Law Act and proposed even further changes in our submission to the Exposure Draft of the bill to better protect children from ongoing exposure to family violence post-separation," said Mr Spencer.
More information about the failings of the current Family Law Act and the rationale to support changes can be found at The Society's campaign site: www.speakupforkids.org.au
(1) No Way to Live: Women's experiences of negotiating the family law system in the context of domestic violence, Dr Lesley Laing, Faculty of Education and Social Work, University of Sydney. June 2010
(2) Family Violence and Family Law in Australia: The Experiences and Views of Children and Adults from Families who Separated Post 1995 and Post?]2006, Bagshaw,D & Brown,T April 2010, Monash University, University of SA, James Cook University