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"As everybody knows": Countering Myths of Gender Bias in Family Law

Hunter, Rosemary, Melville, A. (2001) "As everybody knows": Countering Myths of Gender Bias in Family Law. Griffith Law Review, 10 (1). pp. 124-138. (KAR id:1719)

Abstract

According to certain media commentators, supporters of the men's movement, and even some family lawyers, 'everybody knows' that family law is biased against men. This article draws upon empirical research which shows that the incidence of domestic violence in Family Court cases is relatively high, and that women are often reluctant to take out a domestic violence protection order even if domestic violence has occurred. Despite the high incidence of domestic violence, the Family Court generally supports men having contact with their children and, rather than the Family Court being biased towards women, the very opposite sometimes occurs. It would appear that what 'everybody knows' are a number of myths that can be located within a broader backlash against feminism, and that these myths fail to stand up to empirical testing.

Item Type: Article
Subjects: K Law
Divisions: Divisions > Division for the Study of Law, Society and Social Justice > Kent Law School
Depositing User: A. Davies
Date Deposited: 19 Dec 2007 19:11 UTC
Last Modified: 16 Nov 2021 09:40 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/1719 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

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