Judith Cashmore

Reasons for Disputes in High-Conflict Families

Abstract Ongoing high conflict disputes between parents about the arrangements for children after parental separation are costly for parents and for the court system, and damaging to children. This study involved 80 parents (45 families) who attended a contact orders program following disputes over contact, mostly by court order; 20 parents participated in an in-depth interview. The key issue in the disputes for these parents was concern about the child’s safety and well-being in the care of the other parent, with over half the children involved under the age of 5 at separation. A second issue was children’s resistance to contact, especially on overnight stays and where the child was not close to that parent. Other issues such as the presence of new partners and disputes over money appear to have inflamed the dispute but were not the key reported reasons for the dispute.

What Responsibility Do Courts Have to Hear Children's Voices?

Article 12 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child is explicit about children’s rights to express their views and to have an opportunity to be heard in any judicial and administrative proceedings affecting them. This article focuses on the responsibility of courts, and in particular, that of the judicial officer, to facilitate children’s participation and improve their experience of the process in two important areas of law where children’s participation can have an impact on the outcome: cases involving children as witnesses in child sexual assault matters, and as informants or participants in private family law matters. While the particular focus is on two common law countries (Australia and New Zealand), similar issues arise and are relevant to other common law jurisdictions. It focuses on data from several Australian studies concerning childrens experience in criminal and family law proceedings conducted by the authors.

Relocation and the indissolubility of parenthood

ABSTRACT This article is based upon the findings of a five-year prospective longitudinal study of relocation disputes in Australia, involving interviews with 80 parents and 33 children in 70 families. In the five years following the relocation dispute, much changed for some of these families. A few mothers left without their children; several mothers returned to the original location; some fathers followed. There were also changes in some custody arrangements. The mothers who moved were not surprisingly satisfied with the outcome; however, even mothers who were not allowed to move mostly showed greater improvements in stress levels and mental health than fathers over the five year period, even if the fathers successfully opposed the move. Several mothers adapted to staying if they could see the benefit to their children. All children who moved adapted to the new location and made new friends; however, those who had close relationships with their father found it very hard to be a long distance from him. Drawing upon these interviews, it is argued that decision making in relocation cases must be resolutely child-centered. It cannot be based upon adults’ rights. Children usually benefit from a continuing relationship with a nonresident parent who wants to be involved in their lives. In the adjudication of relocation disputes, careful attention is needed to how close and how developmentally important the child’s relationship is with their nonresident parent. Consideration must also be given to whether the nonresident parent can move to the preferred location of the primary caregiver.

Children and Young People Leaving Care

When parents are deemed to be unable to provide adequate care for their children, and there are no other capable carers within the family, children maybe removed from their family and enter the “care” of the state. The most common reasons in countries such as Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the US are parental incapacity that is the result of substance abuse, mental ill-health, family violence and children’s exposure to abuse or neglect (see Gilligan, Chapter 9 in this volume). Most children leave care after a relatively short stay and return to their families of origin, but for some, out-of-home care is a long-term placement.