Type:	Journal Article
Title:	Children exposed to domestic violence: undifferentiated needs in Australian family law
Other Titles:	Australian journal of family law
Authors:	Shea Hart, Amanda
Keywords:	Screening;Child protection;Impact on children and young people;Policy;Family law
Year:	2004
Publisher:	Butterworths
Citation:	18 (2), July 2004
Notes:	This presents a research study on the Adelaide registry of the Family Court of Australia, which highlights a significant but undifferentiated sub-category of contact dispute cases involving domestic violence. These findings form part of an ongoing doctoral study that examines the construction of the best interests of the child in contested contact cases that reach a final hearing, where exposure of the child to domestic violence is a significant factor. It gives a literature overview of consistent international findings about the adverse impact on children from exposure to domestic violence, and the growing body of knowledge that, under the 1996 legislative reforms (Family Law Reform Act 1995 (Cth) (Reform Act)), the pro-contact culture has compromised the child’s right to safety. A quantitative comparison of the pre-Reform Act (January 1991 to 10 June 1996), and post-Reform Act (11 June 1996 to 31 December 2001) shows an increase of 133% in those disputed contact cases where domestic violence was alleged, from pre-Reform Act (55 cases) to post-Reform Act (128 cases). Preliminary findings of an in-depth qualitative analysis of 20 randomly selected cases from the post-Reform sample are briefly described as well. It also includes a literature review of the effects of exposure to domestic violence on children, and of research on the co-occurrence of domestic violence and direct child abuse. It points to professionals’ inadequate responses to the needs of these children. It argues that the rhetoric of ‘best interests’ of the child masks the generalised assumptions made by adults that all children’s needs are met by contact with both parents. The specific needs of children who have been exposed to the trauma of domestic violence then becomes undifferentiated under this approach. It suggests that the child’s best interests concerning exposure to domestic violence be addressed as a child protection issue, and calls for an urgent need to manage these cases as a differentiated population within the Family Court.
URI:	https://anrows.intersearch.com.au/anrowsjspui/handle/1/13837
ISSN:	0817-623X
Appears in Collections:	Journal Articles

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