{"title":"Reimagining communication and elicitation strategies in private family proceedings","authors":"Tatiana Grieshofer","doi":"10.1080/09649069.2023.2175546","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/09649069.2023.2175546","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT The article focusses on communication and discursive practices in private family proceedings with the aim of exploring procedural barriers obstructing court users from sharing their stories and having their voice heard. Drawing on survey and interview data in combination with the linguistically driven empirical method – ethnography of communication, the discussion illustrates the discrepancy between communicative aims of court users and communicative aims of individual procedural stages. The article expands on how information and narratives are currently elicited from court users and proposes how procedural changes could accommodate more effective elicitation strategies and enhance procedural justice tenets.","PeriodicalId":45633,"journal":{"name":"JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WELFARE AND FAMILY LAW","volume":"45 1","pages":"41 - 61"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2023-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41417564","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"‘Reasonable living costs’, affordability of accommodation, and intentional homelessness: revisited","authors":"C. Reeson","doi":"10.1080/09649069.2023.2175543","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/09649069.2023.2175543","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":45633,"journal":{"name":"JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WELFARE AND FAMILY LAW","volume":"45 1","pages":"88 - 91"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2023-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"59920776","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Editorial","authors":"Mavis Maclean","doi":"10.1080/09649069.2023.2175545","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/09649069.2023.2175545","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":45633,"journal":{"name":"JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WELFARE AND FAMILY LAW","volume":"45 1","pages":"1 - 2"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2023-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46646790","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Notice of duplicate publication: Editorial","authors":"","doi":"10.1080/09649069.2022.2148233","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/09649069.2022.2148233","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":45633,"journal":{"name":"JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WELFARE AND FAMILY LAW","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2022-11-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46841839","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Children – the hidden or direct victims of domestic abuse?","authors":"N. Ho","doi":"10.1080/09649069.2022.2136711","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/09649069.2022.2136711","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT As the psychological impact of childhood exposure to domestic abuse gains more traction, referring to children as ‘the hidden victims of domestic abuse’ is becoming increasingly inaccurate and reductionist. Representing children as mere witnesses of domestic abuse also poses wider implications from the view of law and policy. Jurisdictions which recognise children as direct victims rather than hidden witnesses of domestic abuse, for example, send a clear message that the psychological harm of experiencing domestic abuse merits robust intervention (e.g. additional funding for child-specific support and services). Using a comparative approach, this study analyses the legal recognition of children who experience domestic abuse for the purposes of exploring how the child should be conceptualised in laws regulating childhood exposure to domestic abuse. For this comparative review, the jurisdictions of England and Wales, New Zealand and the United States (specifically the State of Washington) were selected, on the basis that they all respond to child experiences of domestic abuse in distinct ways that raise pertinent points of contrast. Whilst the State of Washington relies primarily on perpetrator-centric, criminal law responses to child experiences of domestic abuse, England and Wales and New Zealand resort to family law mechanisms that focus more on the child and the parent–child relationship. All in all, these points of contrast are pertinent because they provide an exploratory view of how the child should be conceptualised in law and policy. As this paper submits, conceptualising the child as a direct victim of domestic abuse––as reflected in England and Wales and New Zealand’s legislative efforts––works to send a powerful message about the severity of harm that children suffer when they experience domestic abuse. The State of Washington, on the other hand, has much to learn from England and Wales and New Zealand’s conceptualisation of the child, as its current legislative efforts appear to be rooted in an outdated understanding of the child as a mere collateral witness.","PeriodicalId":45633,"journal":{"name":"JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WELFARE AND FAMILY LAW","volume":"44 1","pages":"512 - 528"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2022-10-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47526880","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Unintended consequences of non-harassment orders: child contact decision-making","authors":"Rachel McPherson","doi":"10.1080/09649069.2022.2136714","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/09649069.2022.2136714","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT This paper considers the implications and unintended consequences of the increased use of non-harassment orders in criminal proceedings. In particular, it considers how non-harassment orders co-exist with the existing framework for decisions related to child contact proceedings. In this paper it will be shown that while non-harassment orders are needed for the protection of the victim and any child of the family, such orders may impact upon the traditional routes in which child contact decisions are made. This fact has not been the subject of consideration but is very significant given the inherent tension which results in a landscape where there is a trend towards respect for the views of children in Scottish child contact proceedings. It is recommended that priority must now be given to the use of such orders in cases involving children. Opportunities to consider this issue in more detail are highlighted.","PeriodicalId":45633,"journal":{"name":"JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WELFARE AND FAMILY LAW","volume":"44 1","pages":"495 - 511"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2022-10-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44149930","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Editorial","authors":"E. Hitchings","doi":"10.1080/09649069.2022.2136708","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/09649069.2022.2136708","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":45633,"journal":{"name":"JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WELFARE AND FAMILY LAW","volume":"44 1","pages":"429 - 430"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2022-10-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45843495","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The curious case of the vanishing fraud","authors":"Lucy Crompton","doi":"10.1080/09649069.2022.2136704","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/09649069.2022.2136704","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT This case review critiques Cohen J’s judgment in Goddard-Watts v Goddard-Watts [2022] EWHC 711 (Fam), a second rehearing of the wife’s application for financial remedies on divorce. The foundational critique is Cohen J’s minimisation of the husband’s fraudulent non-disclosure of a massive increase in the value of some shares, which had necessitated the rehearing. I argue that the judge failed to consider whether the husband’s non-disclosure had undermined the basis on which the original consent order had been made: the husband had received more than half of the capital based largely on the risk associated with the shares, which had clearly paid off. The judge also failed to consider whether the decision in the first rehearing that the increase in the value of the shares was attributable to the husband’s post-separation endeavour was undermined by his failure to disclose the size of the increase. I critique the judge for making a needs-based award to the wife, arguing that this switches focus to the wife, further obscuring the husband’s deceit. Switching to needs allows the judge to retreat to safe ground where he can avoid difficult questions about the impact of the husband’s fraud on his ability to resist sharing his wealth with the wife.","PeriodicalId":45633,"journal":{"name":"JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WELFARE AND FAMILY LAW","volume":"44 1","pages":"537 - 540"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2022-10-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48279303","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Exclusion in the interests of inclusion: who should stay offline in the emerging world of online justice?","authors":"L. Mulcahy, Anna Tsalapatanis","doi":"10.1080/09649069.2022.2136713","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/09649069.2022.2136713","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT England and Wales are in the middle of an ambitious court reform programme, a key element of which is the shift to more online hearings in appropriate cases. This raises a series of new questions for the judiciary, not least of which is whether there are circumstances in which a video hearing is unsuitable because a key participant is not able to engage effectively online. This article considers current thinking about the circumstances in which a case should be excluded from the list of online proceedings and compares judicial approaches to what we know of digital disadvantage from the social science literature. The authors draw on emerging judicial statements about threshold competencies, and original research with court staff, regular participants in court hearings and lay users. It is argued that the complex dynamics of digital disadvantage are frequently misunderstood and underestimated. This article makes clear the need for a more in-depth consideration of the multiple ways in which digital disadvantage manifests itself beyond a lack of equipment or skills. In doing so it raises critical questions about what we mean by user perspectives and how the voices of users are being heard.","PeriodicalId":45633,"journal":{"name":"JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WELFARE AND FAMILY LAW","volume":"44 1","pages":"455 - 476"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2022-10-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43812736","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Universal Credit, deductions and ‘sexually transmitted’ debt","authors":"Rita Griffiths, R. Cain","doi":"10.1080/09649069.2022.2136712","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/09649069.2022.2136712","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Intended to simplify benefits and encourage paid employment, Universal Credit is the UK’s main working-age benefit. Assessed and paid monthly in arrears to low-income individuals and couples with and without earnings, the single monthly payment is based on entitlement, less a proportion deducted for any household earnings and/or debts. Research has highlighted the financial hardship that deductions for debts can cause for claimants. Less attention has been paid to the experiences of couples who have joint liability for repaying debts that one or both of the partners may have accrued, including those which may pre-date the start of their current partnership. Drawing on new empirical research findings, we explore the effects of deductions in the context of a joint Universal Credit claim, and on the different partners. The paper argues that greater stringency, data sharing and automation in the capture and recovery of debts, compared with the legacy system, have reduced the scope for flexibility and discretion in the way debts are collected and deductions are administered. This is creating additional financial hardship and potential relationship instability for couples for whom adverse financial and emotional effects can be multiplied. Options for reform are discussed.","PeriodicalId":45633,"journal":{"name":"JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WELFARE AND FAMILY LAW","volume":"44 1","pages":"431 - 454"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2022-10-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45356492","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}