This book examines the strength of laws addressing four types of violence against women rape, marital rape, domestic violence, and sexual harassment in 196 countries from 2007 to 2010. It analyzes why these laws exist in some places and not others, and why they are stronger or weaker in places where they do exist. The authors have compiled original data that allow them to test various hypotheses related to whether international law drives the enactment of domestic legal protections. They also examine the ways in which these legal protections are related to economic, political, and social institutions, and how transnational society affects the presence and strength of these laws. The original data produced for this book make a major contribution to comparisons and analyses of gender violence and law worldwide."

This book presents a wholly new perspective on the Child Support Agency. The authors were granted privileged access to the CSA's own staff and were thus able to monitor case conduct from both the Agency and the client perspective. In a gripping analysis they compare the accounts of former husbands and wives with those of their respective legal advisers,and, critically, they incorporate the experience and views of the beleaguered CSA staff who attempted to calculate and enforce child maintenance obligations in those same cases. The media picture of the misery visited upon 'absent fathers' is borne out in part, but even more striking is the authors' account of a catastrophic administrative failure which led to the abandonment of many of the basic tenets of administrative justice. The reasons do not lie in the perceived unfairness of the formula but rather in the failure of those drafting the Child Support legislation to appreciate the impact of such change upon the rest of our hugely complex benefit structure. Their failure to grasp that the problems of inadequate disclosure and ineffective enforcement - with which courts had grappled for decades - could not be tackled effectively by a distant bureaucracy.

This textbook uses cases in family law to illustrate both traditional philosophical problems in the law as well as problems that are unique to family law. In the beginning chapters family law cases are employed to introduce the reader to philosophical debates about the relationship between law and morals, about how one ought to interpret the U.S. Constitution and its amendments, about the conditions under which individual liberty is justifiably limited by law, about the justification of punishment, and about the justification of remedies and standards of care in determining negligence in tort cases. Later chapters are devoted to contemporary issues unique to family law, including justifiable limits of access to marriage, alternatives to marriage, the rights of children, child custody disputes involving surrogate births, quasi-property disputes involving custody of frozen embryos, and the justifiable limits of the right not to procreate. The book reflects current movements, contemporary debates, and recent research on the philosophical problems in family law.

First published in 1984, this book made an important and timely contribution to the development of the idea that the law is a major source of women's oppression. Based on research of the theory and practice of family law, it examines the way in which private law operates to sustain, reproduce and reinforce the dependence of women in the most private of spheres, namely marriage. The author focuses on the point of break down or divorce, where the economic vulnerability of women caused by marriage and the sexual division of labour is most clearly expressed. She points to the way in which the law, while mitigating the worst excesses of men's power over women in marriage, has consistently failed to tackle the economic structure of marriage and women's fundamental material vulnerability inside the family. She confronts various myths on divorce legislation in Britain and discusses alternative feminist proposals for tackling the problems caused by women's economic dependence in marriage. Although Smart writes in 1984, many of the issues she discusses retain their significance in today's society.

Forensic Mental Health Professionals have entered the fray of child custody litigation in ways that could not have been predicted even a decade ago. Traditionally engaged as neutral court appointed evaluators or mediators, or as treatment providers for children, parents or families, FMHPs are assuming a range of consulting functions. Services span a wide range, including providing expert testimony on specific content areas; reviewing and critiquing colleague 's work product; providing behind the scenes consultation to attorneys, and even help attorneys manage difficult cases and clients. These more recent services raise questions about sound professional practice. This volume tackles these thorny issues head on, and discusses questions how consultants can work creatively and ethically to make a positive contribution in the challenging world of family law.

This book was originally published as a special issue of Journal of Child Custody.

This Major Reference series brings together a wide range of key international articles in law and legal theory. Many of these essays are not readily accessible, and their presentation in these volumes will provide a vital new resource for both research and teaching. Each volume is edited by leading international authorities who explain the significance and context of articles in an informative and complete introduction.

This book considers how a phenomenon as complex as coercive control can be criminalised. The recognition and ensuing criminalisation of coercive control in the UK and Ireland has been the focus of considerable international attention. It has generated complex questions about the "best" way to criminalise domestic abuse. This work reviews recent domestic abuse criminal law reform in the UK and Ireland. In particular, it defines coercive control and explains why using traditional criminal law approaches to prosecute it does not work. Laws passed in England and Wales versus Scotland represent two different approaches to translating coercive control into a criminal offence. This volume explains how and why the jurisdictions have taken different approaches and examines the advantages and disadvantages of each. As jurisdictions around the world review what steps need to be taken to improve national criminal justice responses to domestic abuse, the question of what works, and why, at the intersection of domestic abuse and the criminal law has never been more important. As such, the book will be a vital resource for lawyers, policy-makers and activists with an interest in domestic abuse law reform.

Although recent family law debates have been predominantly paedo-centric, the founding of "bio-medically assisted families" still focuses on the individual parents' rights to reproduce. By introducing donations, the donor's genetic contribution becomes instrumental and the legal attribution of parenthood negotiated through expressed intentions. The absence of a genetic, social and legal father can only occur in single women's conceptions by choice, hence calling into question the role of the societal father.This neglects the future child's voice in private and family life issues on at least two levels: informational (lacking information about origins, often related to personal identity) and legal and functional (care provided by both parents). It furthermore emphasises the inconsistency in the treatment of "naturally" and "artificially" conceived children since the latter have restricted access to parental judicial proceedings.The conflicts between individuals in the family go beyond national family laws and become a matter of reconciling progenitors' and children's human rights. Yet the discrepancies between different civil law jurisdictions are remarkable. In addition, the sensitivity of the filiation of children conceived by sperm donation to single women requires more than legal solutions it requires an interdisciplinary approach encompassing ethics, psychology, anthropology and sociology. Moreover, by arguing and suggesting solutions the issue also becomes political. Hence, this book provokes the curious minds of lawyers, ethicists, physicians, bio-technologists and those assisting and wishing to found families. It clarifies concepts, studies the rationale behind the legal complexity in ten national European jurisdictions, and confronts the rights and responsibilities of the stakeholders, providing a balanced independent conclusion and suggestions towards international harmonisation.

Marital rape stands at the intersection of the socio-legal issues arising from both domestic violence and sexual assault. For centuries, women who suffered sexual assault perpetrated by their spouses had no legal recourse. A man's conjugal rights included his right to have sexual intercourse with his wife regardless of whether she consented. This right has been recognised in law, and still is in some jurisdictions today. This book emerges from the research undertaken by an innovative, multi-country, academic, collaborative project dedicated to comparatively analysing the legal treatment of sexual assault in intimate relationships, with a view to challenging the legal impunity for and inadequate legal responses to this form of gendered violence.

This volume provides an authoritative, evenhanded overview of the Trump administration's family separation and child detention policies at the U.S.-Mexico border-and the impact of those policies and actions on children, their parents, border security, and U.S. politics. The 21st Century Turning Points series is a one-stop resource for understanding the people and events changing America today. Each volume provides readers with a clear, authoritative, and unbiased understanding of a single issue or event that is driving national debate about our nation's leaders, institutions, values, and priorities. This particular volume is devoted to the issue of child migrant detention on the U.S.-Mexico border. It provides background information on the political, social, and economic forces driving undocumented immigration into America; explains the policies and records of both the Obama and Trump administrations on immigration, deportation, and border security; summarizes current laws and regulations governing U.S. border and immigration policies; recounts President Trump's rhetoric and record on both legal and "illegal" immigration, including his promise to build a "Border Wall" with funds from Mexico; surveys living conditions in the border detention centers operated by U.S. authorities; and discusses the impact of detention and family separation on children taken into custody. Entries devoted to specific events and milestones Biographical profiles of important activists and figures Essays that explore the lasting impact of child detention on migrant children, their families, immigration trends, and American politics and society Annotated bibliography of sources for further study

Balancing a child's welfare interests and rights so as to ensure recognition and respect for his or her autonomous identity, while facilitating family unity, has become a major challenge for modern family law. This book, following on from The Principle of the Welfare of the Child: A History, examines, contrasts, and compares the response of England and Wales and Ireland to that challenge. It does so by applying the same matrix of indicators to explore, in each country, the distinction between welfare interests and rights and to trace changes in the balance between them. By profiling the nations in accordance with the same indicators, it reveals important jurisdictional differences in the extent to which welfare interests or rights determine how the law is currently applied to children.

In November 1998, the Hawaii and Alaska electorates voted to amend their state constitutions so that same-sex marriages would not have to be recognized. Rather than end the controversy surrounding same-sex marriages, the passage of these amendments will only spur more litigation, because the referenda themselves implicate constitutional guarantees and because amending a state constitution cannot lessen federal constitutional protections. Since same-sex marriages promote many of the same individual and state interests that opposite-sex marriages do, states will be unable to justify their same-sex marriage bans if those rationales are closely examined. When challenged, the recent constitutional amendments in Hawaii and Alaska may well be held unconstitutional by the state supreme courts on federal constitutional grounds, although ultimately the United States Supreme Court will likely be asked to resolve the relevant issues.

Suppose that state same-sex marriage bans are held not to violate federal constitutional guarantees, but that one state nonetheless recognizes such unions. The other states will be permitted to refuse to recognize marriages celebrated in that state only if certain conditions have been met. Contrary view notwithstanding, the law of nature exception will not apply in this case. Further, even the Defense of Marriage Act will likely not afford states the right to refuse to recognize any and all same-sex marriages validly celebrated in sister states.

Recently, many political voices have indicated a strong desire to track down absent fathers who have absconded without fulfilling child support obligations to their biological or adopted children. This renewed interest in deadbeat dads has resulted from a recognition that the social welfare programs, which pick up the tab for abandoned children, are contributing significantly to an ever-increasing federal budget deficit. Meanwhile, in a large number of cases, there simply isn't enough money for an absent parent to maintain his own separate support and fulfill the support obligations that the law requires. This book explores the history, reforms, and consequences of child support in America. The authors have included case studies as well as discussions on the psychological consequences of separating families, effects of divorce laws on the award of child support, contested paternity, and child custody alternatives. They conclude with a discussion on economic responsibility and the deadbeat epidemic. The book is intended to empower the larger number of parents who are caught in the midst of overworked agencies, discouraging tales, and the lack of information that keeps them paralyzed from acting on their own behalf.

Explore legal issues that often hinder the work of child welfare practitioners! Child Welfare in the Legal Setting: A Critical and Interpretive Perspective is a revolutionary study of the child welfare system that is essential for practitioners, educators, and students interested in public child welfare work. It examines the legal system surrounding child welfare workers and highlights their need for agency-specific training. This insightful book challenges the traditional rules of child welfare and paves the way for alternate methods of conceptualizing and organizing child protection. It explores why many family interventions fail and others never even occur. By identifying incongruities between the philosophy of child welfare and its function, this book advocates a more individualistic and efficient technique for assisting clients. Addressing issues and challenges from the initial identification of problems to navigating the legal system, this book is also thorough enough for public child welfare workers who want to take their skills to the next level. The large-system perspective in this book uses the concentric circle model, the rational legal model of legal and court action, and the ritualized process model to examine child welfare practice. Learn why terms such as child abuse and neglect have become social constructions that vary depending on the values of social workers, judges, attorneys, agencies, and communities. Child Welfare in the Legal Setting: A Critical and Interpretive Perspective examines the standardization of the organizational activities of child welfare systems and how this limits professionals' ability to accurately recognize unique problems and intervene in the most beneficial manner. Child Welfare in the Legal Setting also provides controversial opinions on emerging issues including: family investigations sanction for Child Protective Services intervention the legal setting as a host environment the function of the child welfare system rationalization of child welfare intervention trained incapacity of social workers Title IVE programs the court system Child Welfare in the Legal Setting: A Critical and Interpretive Perspective identifies vital issues by analyzing the ethical and moral foundations of the child welfare system. This insightful book also takes a close look at how practitioners inadvertently devalue their clients by using language that creates stigmatized social categories such as victim and convicted felon. Supervisors, managers, social workers and child welfare practitioners will benefit from this information. The vignettes that supplement the narrative also make the book an important resource in any child welfare course.

Family justice requires not only a legal framework within which personal obligations are regulated over the life course, but also a justice system which can deliver legal information, advice and support at times of change of status or family stress, together with mechanisms for negotiation, dispute management and resolution, with adjudication as the last resort. The past few years have seen unparalleled turbulence in the way family justice systems function. These changes are associated with economic constraints in many countries, including England and Wales, where legal aid for private family matters has largely disappeared. But there is also a change in ideology in a number of jurisdictions, including Canada, towards what is sometimes called neo-liberalism, whereby the state seeks to reduce its area of activity while at the same time maintaining strong views on family values. Legal services may become fragmented and marketised, and the role of law and lawyers reduced, while self-help web based services expand. The contributors to this volume share their anxieties about the impact on the ability of individuals to achieve fair and informed resolution in family matters.

From the BESTSELLING Law Express revision series. Law Express Question and Answer: Family Law is designed to ensure you get the most marks for every answer you write by improving your understanding of what examiners are looking for, helping you to focus in on the question being asked and showing you how to make even a strong answer stand out.

What kinds of obligations do parents have towards their children as family life becomes more complex? Many children pass through a number of different households,living with one or both parents and later step parents and step brothers and sisters. How are the new forms of family life accommodated in the legal system? The answer is that parenthood, rather than marriage, is now emerging as the central mechanism through which moral principles are converted into legal and social obligations. This study of 250 children who do not live with both of their parents shows, however, that despite the comparative legal emptiness of marriage, the experience of living longer with both parents than is usually the case of children of cohabiting or single parents endows the child with social capital in the form of enduring involvement with the outside parent, even after divorce, and that this happens to a greater extent than for children whose parents were not married.

This contribution to comparative family law brings together essays on a range of issues in family law in the United States and England, showing how they stand at the beginning of the 21st century. This provides an opportunity to examine how family law has reacted to a period of change in family life widely held to be without precedent. The legal analyses are set within critical accounts of wider social and family policy and against a fully explored demographic background provided by leading scholars in these areas.

This book provides a stimulating, carefully planned introduction to the key issues and debates within family law from some of the leading authorities within their field. It is designed both as a self standing book focusing on the key issues in the subject, and as a supplement to more detailed textbooks on the subject. It is essential reading for anybody studying or practising in the field of family law. Each chapter is concerned with one of the main areas of family law (such as adoption, domestic violence, marrriage and divorce), and covers a range of themes, including the public/private divide, balancing the interests of family members, moral values and family law, cost and the legal system, and the enforcement of family law. The book reflects the interdisciplinary nature of the debates on family law, and the difficult social and political issues which these have raised.

Clear, straightforward explanations and easy-to-follow examples ensure students' understanding of what is often considered a complex and difficult subject. Lively, humorous writing style and focus on real people and real situations help to bring equity and trusts to life, challenging preconceptions and engaging even the most resistant of students Focus on areas of contemporary interest and rapid recent development such as the family home; charities law and commercial uses of trusts to help students to see how the law impacts on individuals and businesses every day. Shorter, punchier and more accessible to a broader range of students than Alastair Hudson's classic textbook, this is sure to appeal to today's time-pressured law student. New edition updated to include the latest developments in case law.