Call to make parental abductions a crime
The Family Law Reform Association of New South Wales is calling on the Federal Government to make it a crime for a parent to take a child out of Australia without the other parent’s consent.
About 150 children are taken overseas without permission each year, and the association says it is a form of child abuse.
It says the number of children affected is alarming and the law reformers have written to the Federal Attorney-General, asking him to criminalise the abductions.
The abductions are so common there is now an acronym for them – International Parental Child Abduction (IPCA).
Deputy Commissioner of the New South Wales Fire Brigades, Ken Thompson, had his son abducted in April 2008, and is now spokesman for the Coalition of Parents of Abducted Children.
“In April 2008, my son Andrew was kidnapped from Australia by his mother,” he said.
“They left the country, went to Singapore, then to Germany and they since disappeared without any trace. I just never imagined anything like this would happen.”
Mr Thompson said despite his wife exhibiting strange behaviour in late 2007, he had no inclination she would flee with their son.
“My wife was behaving very, very strangely in December 2007,” he said. “She was preventing me from having any contact with Andrew whatsoever.
“She then started to make some very, very serious allegations. I then took her to court to be able to resume my relationship with my son and to have her allegations investigated.”
Part way through the court process, his wife fled the country with their child.
Because she left during a court case, Mr Thompson was able to convince police she had breached the Family Law Act, enabling him to get some help.
“Because a crime hadn’t been committed under the Crimes Act, there was a lot of uncertainty about what the authorities could actually do, and that is when I realised there is a massive hole in our legislation,” he said.
“The vast majority of children who are abducted from Australia are abducted outside the Family Court process and in those cases, thorough investigations can’t be done because no crime has been committed.”
Read more…Push to criminalise parental abductions – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
Dealing with Family Law – Slater and Gordon
October 18, 2009 by admin
Filed under Family Law Lawyers
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Dealing with Family law issues are always sensitive for the clients and need to be dealt with a great deal of diligence and care, the understanding and compassion the Family Law team at Slater & Gordon offer is second to none.
The Family aspect
The breakdown of a relationship or marriage can be a stressful and traumatic event for the couple, any children and immediate family. If you decide to separate, you and your partner will need to make a variety of decisions about your children and property. At this time is where understanding family law can be essential.
Read more…Slater & Gordon – Lawyers, Lawyers Australia, Law Firm – Fmaily Law
Children eager to have say on custody
THEY are the innocent onlookers caught up in their parents’ bitter
conflict. But research suggests children of separating couples usually
want to have some say in post-marital arrangements — they just don’t
want to be forced to choose between their parents.
The extent to
which children are involved in making decisions about where they live
and how much time they spend with each parent depends to some extent on
how much their parents allow it.
But an Australian study suggests
that although most children want to be part of the discussion, they
concede that it puts them in a “difficult position”.
They were
unwilling or unable to choose between their parents because they were
concerned about the consequences of choosing, particularly about being
unfair or upsetting one of their parents. Only in cases involving
allegations of violence or abuse did children have strong views about
choosing between parents.
Most parents thought it was reasonable
for their children to have a say, but about half thought children were
possible victims of manipulation by the other parent or, less commonly,
“potential manipulators”.
Co-author Patrick Parkinson, professor
of family law at Sydney University, said it was important to listen to
children’s voices and understand how they were experiencing the
separation. But the ultimate decision should rest with the judge or
parents, not the child, he said.
“We were struck by how overwhelming the view of kids was that they wanted to have a say,” he said.
“Don’t ask children to choose but listen to their world.”
And
although judges are split about the appropriateness of children
speaking directly to judges about their wishes, almost all children
said that they should at least have the opportunity to do so, even if
they personally did not want to.
The study, published this week in the journal Family Matters, is based on interviews with 90 parents and 47 children and teenagers.
The
views of 20 Family Court judges and Federal Court magistrates, as well
as lawyers, family consultants and mediators, were also sought.
Under the Family Law Act, children’s views have to be considered by the judge, but the study says there is a paradox.
“The
more weight that is given to children’s views, the greater the danger
that they will be exposed to pressure from parents and manipulation,
and the more they are likely to experience damaging loyalty conflicts,”
it says.
Professor Parkinson said a balance had to be found between involving them without getting them caught up in loyalty conflicts.