Thea Brown

Child abuse in the context of parental separation and divorce: New reality and a new intervention model

Child abuse allegations in the context of parental separation and divorce have long been seen as merely weapons fashioned by angry and vindictive parents involved in separation and divorce wars. They have been disregarded on the basis that they were unlikely to be real. However recent research from Australia and overseas has shown that this picture is not true. Child abuse in this context is real and it is serious. Moreover the research has shown that the socio-legal system does not serve children caught in this situation at all well. The Magellan program, a world first experimental program to overcome the problems for these children and their families as they progress through the socio-legal system, was introduced by a consortium of agencies in Victoria recently. This article reports on the program and its outcomes, and considers implications of some of the components of the new program for the various professionals working with this issue.

Adopted women become parents A pilot study

Becoming a parent and mother is ‘the irreversible crossing of the boundary from being someones (daughter) to becoming someones mother’ (Schmidt Neven 1996) and what we know of this transition for adopted women is still primarily anecdotal. Many women adopted during and after the 1970s in Victoria are still in the parenting life stage, and this paper describes the experiences of three of them. The women participated in qualitative, in-depth interviews that were part of a Master of Social Work research study This article primarily takes a life course approach in eliciting themes of normative family experiences, delay of identity consolidation until the time of childbearing, the impact of search, reunion and divided loyalties, and the negotiation of multiple family systems (adoptive, in-law and birth). The management of these complex phenomena have demanded a high level of skill and effort by these women as they cope with their own emotional reactions, continue to be responsive mothers and assist their children and partners to negotiate new, extended, family relationships. The study draws attention to and provides insight for practitioners in this hidden area of welfare and indicates the need for further research.

Filicide in Australia

Drawing on the most recent research on filicide in Australia and internationally, this chapter highlights a number of risk factors evident in Australian research including the vulnerability of very young children, the mental illness of the perpetrator, prior domestic violence inflicted by the male perpetrator or suffered by the female perpetrator, parental separation, prior child abuse, substance abuse, the criminal history of the perpetrator, the presence of a step-father and the perpetrator’s use of or failure to engage with services. The chapter argues that the constellation of factors varies according to perpetrator group and that professionals carrying out risk assessments need to take this into consideration.