Type:	Journal Article
Title:	Domestic violence and the exemption from seeking child support: providing safety or legitimizing ongoing poverty and fear
Other Titles:	Social policy & administration
Authors:	Cook, Kay Patrick, Rebecca McKenzie, Hayley
Keywords:	Welfare;Policy
Year:	2008
Publisher:	B. Blackwell
Citation:	42 (7), June 2008
Notes:	This article examines the experience of low-income women on welfare in Australia and the process of seeking child support from a violent ex-partner, contrasting this with research from the United States and the United Kingdom. Women in Australia who fear ongoing or renewed abuse as a result of seeking child support are eligible for an exemption. However, the exemption policy does not necessarily provide the intended protection of women and children from ongoing abuse and poverty. The exemption policy route also produces an unintended outcome whereby the perpetrators of violence are financially rewarded as they do not have to pay child support. These outcomes are shaped by a complex interaction of personal, cultural and structural forces that make the process of seeking child support for women who have experienced violence extremely problematic. The article demonstrates how in Australia, as in the US and UK policy contexts, the needs of women and their children are compromised by the details of policy specification and the way policies are implemented within the different systems. [?2008 Blackwell. All rights reserved. For further information, visit Social Policy and Administration.]
URI:	https://anrows.intersearch.com.au/anrowsjspui/handle/1/14352
ISSN:	0144-5596
Appears in Collections:	Journal Articles

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