Family Law Prof Blog

Family courts not safe for domestic violence victims, lawyers say

From The Guardian

The family courts are not a safe place for victims of domestic violence because some judges there hold “outdated views” on sexual violence and issues of consent, according to a letter signed by 130 lawyers and professionals.

The public intervention comes in response to a widely criticised judgment last year by Judge Robin Tolson QC in the family court, in which he ruled that since a woman had not taken physical steps to stop her partner from assaulting her it did not constitute rape.

Last month, Tolson’s decision was overturned by the high court. Ms Justice Russell said the judge’s approach towards the issue of consent was “manifestly at odds” with current jurisprudence.

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US imposes visa rules for pregnant women on ‘birth tourism’

From AP News

The Trump administration is imposing new visa rules aimed at restricting “birth tourism,” in which women travel to the United States to give birth so their children can have U.S. citizenship. The regulations, which take effect Friday, address one of President Donald Trump’s main political priorities.

The regulations seek to chip away at the number of foreigners who take advantage of the constitutional provision granting“birthright citizenship” to anyone born in the United States, a particular peeve of Trump’s. Under the new rules, pregnant applicants will be denied a tourist visa unless they can prove they must come to the U.S. to give birth for medical reasons and they have money to pay for it or have another compelling reason — not just because they want their child to have an American passport.

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New Zealand Moves to Decriminalize Abortion

From BBC News:

New Zealand's government has proposed decriminalising abortion and allowing women to choose a termination up to 20 weeks into a pregnancy.

Jacinda Ardern's government issued details of a bill which would change abortion laws in force since 1977.

As things stand, a woman may only obtain an abortion if two doctors certify continued pregnancy would endanger her mental or physical health.

Read more here.

Hungary Offers about $33,000 to Couples if They Have Three Children

From Lifesite News:

Hungary’s pro-family government is offering married couples a 10 million-forint (about $33,000 USD) loan that won’t have to be paid back if the couple has three children. 

The measure is part of Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s plan to encourage population growth in a country with one of the lowest birth rates in Europe. So far, according to a government spokesperson, thousands of families have applied for the loans or other pro-family subsidies during the month of July. 

Read more here.

Cambodia Continues Jail of Surrogate Mothers

From 

Cambodia is continuing to jail surrogate mothers. Three women were charged with human trafficking last week. After being detained in Vietnam they had been handed over to Cambodian authorities, allegedly carrying babies for foreign nationals. If convicted, they could be jailed for as long as 20 years.

One of the women has already delivered her baby.

Cambodia hastily outlawed surrogacy in 2016 after Thailand also banned it. Since then, dozens of women and some surrogacy agents have been arrested.

Read more here.

Proposed Australian Abortion Law

From The Guardian:

The architect of a historic bill to decriminalise abortion in New South Waleshas hit out at opponents of the legislation, after a conservative MP wrongly claimed the bill would allow unrestricted abortion “until the moment of birth”.

The independent MP for Sydney, Alex Greenwich, tabled the bill on Thursday after it was delayed by a week by resistance within the Coalition government.

Read more here.

The 'Shame' of Hidden Child Abuse

From BBC News:

An Asian woman raped by a relative as a child has spoken out after 50 years to highlight the issue of hidden sex abuse.

Zlakha Ahmed, from Rotherham, was five when she was was repeatedly abused over a two-year period.

The 56-year-old said her parents never talked about the abuse for fear of her bringing shame on the family.

A spokeswoman for the Muslim Women's Network said child sex abuse was "endemic in South Asian communities".

Read more here.

Netherland’s Tax System Punishment of Families

From Mercatornet:

The Netherlands often prides itself on equality and tolerance, yet, written into the Dutch tax code are profound inequalities that place significantly heavier tax burdens on families with a stay-at-home parent.

In the Netherlands, a traditional family with a sole breadwinner and a stay-at-home mom may be required to pay as much as 557 percent more in taxes than a household with the same income where both spouses work—simply because one of the two parents does not earn wages.

Read more here.

British Court Invalidates Ruling Forcing Mentally Challenged Pregnant Woman to have an Abortion

From National Review:

A British appeals court on Monday reversed a previous ruling that would have forced a mentally disabled woman to abort her child against both her wishes and those of her mother.

Justice Nathalie Lieven ruled Friday that an unidentified London woman, who is in her twenties but is said by the court to have the mental capacity of a six-to-nine-year-old child, must abort her 22-week-old unborn baby on the grounds that carrying the child to term would damage her mental health.

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UK Police Blunt Knives Plan to Tackle Domestic Violence

From Nottinghampost News:

Victims of domestic violence will have their kitchen knives replaced with blunt utensils to prevent their partners attacking them in their own home.

Nottinghamshire Police are piloting the scheme where around 100 'no point' knives will be handed to victims who have either been threatened or attacked with a knife.

Police are concerned about the high level of knife-related incidents that happen in the home, and are hoping the new scheme has the potential to save lives.

 

Read more here.

 

Botswana High Court Decriminalizes Homosexuality

From NPR News:

Botswana's high court has thrown out a colonial-era law that criminalized same-sex relations in a landmark ruling lauded by activists. People who broke the law had faced the threat of a seven-year prison sentence.

The case was brought by a young activist who said Botswana's society had changed since sections of the country's penal code were enacted, banning the "carnal knowledge of any person against the order of nature." On Tuesday, the court agreed.

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German LGBT's Fight for Right to a Family

From Reuters:

When German IT professional Sarah Kinzebach had her first child, it took six months of lengthy checks for her female partner to be legally recognized as a co-parent. Had her partner been a man, it would have happened automatically.

Germany recognized same-sex relationships in 2001, granting couples greater rights on inheritance, tax and other benefits, and legalized same-sex marriage in 2017 despite stiff opposition from conservative politicians and the Catholic church.

Read more here.

 

Proposed Bill in Japan to Ban Parents from Physically Punishing Children

From The Japan Times:

A bill banning parents and guardians from physically punishing children is set to pass the Diet during the current session, after the ruling and opposition parties agreed on some modifications, lawmakers have said.

The bill is more or less the same as the original one submitted by the government. But it has been modified and will also urge local governments and child welfare centers to offer guidance to parents who have abused children, based on medical and psychological expertise, to prevent the abuse from happening again.

Read more here.

Taiwan Becomes First Asian Country to Legalize Same Sex Marriage

From BBC News:

Taiwan's parliament has become the first in Asia to legalise same-sex marriage following a vote on Friday.

In 2017, the island's constitutional court ruled that same-sex couples had the right to legally marry.

Parliament was given a two-year deadline and was required to pass the changes by 24 May.

Lawmakers debated three different bills to legalise same-sex unions and the government's bill, the most progressive of the three, was passed.

Read more here.

Belgium Ex-King may be Fined for DNA Test Refusal

From BBC News:

A Belgian appeals court has ruled that former King Albert II is to be fined €5,000 (£4,370) a day if he refuses to undergo a DNA test.

In February, he refused to undergo such a test in a case aimed at proving he fathered a love child in the 1960s.

A court in Brussels ordered the 84-year-old ex-monarch to provide a saliva sample in three months or risk being presumed to be the father of Delphine Boël, 50.

The ex-king denies the paternity claim.

Read more here.

Brazilian Twin Brothers Forced to Pay Child Support After Inconclusive Paternity Test

From Fox News:

Twin brothers in Brazil are being forced to each pay child support after a paternity test was unable to confirm who the father of a newborn baby is.

The identical twins refused to admit who the father of the baby girl was in an attempt to avoid making support payments. After additional DNA testing was done and returned inconclusive, a judge made the decision to hold them both accountable for supporting the child.

The brothers, whose identities remain anonymous, have been using their physical similarities to trick women into thinking they were the other person.

“They each used the other’s name, either to attract as many women as possible or to hide betrayal in their relationships,” the ruling judge wrote in a statement.

Read more here.

Switzerland Ranked #1 for Women's Rights

From World Economic Forum:

Switzerland, which promotes equality at home and in the workplace, has been ranked the best country for women's rights, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) said in a report on Friday.

Denmark, Sweden, France and Portugal were the next best-performing countries, according to an index that ranked 120 nations on how they tackled discrimination against women through their laws and political reforms.

Meanwhile, Guinea, Jordan, Iran, Pakistan and Yemen came out at the bottom of the OECD's Social Institutions and Gender Index, released to mark International Women's Day.

Read more here.

UK Judge Says Men have a "Fundamental Human Right" to Sex with their Wives

From The Guardian:

A row has erupted after a judge spoke in court about the “fundamental human right” of a man to have sex with his wife.

The remark was made by Mr Justice Hayden, who had been asked to consider imposing a court order preventing a man from having sex with his wife of 20 years because she may no longer be able to give her consent.

The case had been brought to the court of protection, which considers cases where people lack the mental capacity to make their own decisions, by lawyers for a council’s social services after the condition of the woman, who has learning difficulties, began to deteriorate.

Read more here.

Women Take to the Streets of Pakistan to Rewrite Their Place in History

From The Guardian:

During Jalwat Ali’s school days in Lahore, there were limited spaces to gather with other women, never mind flood the streets with punchy placards.

Public spaces often feel constricted in Pakistan, as though under critical male scrutiny. But over the past few days, Ali has been recruiting dozens of women, from garment workers to domestic helpers who barely get a day off. “To solve any problem, we need to make a collective effort,” she says.

On Friday, a series of International Women’s Day marches will be held in several Pakistani cities, calling for women’s place in society to be rewritten.

Organisers hope the aurat march (“women’s march”) and aurat azadi march(“women’s liberation march”) will bring a cross-section of society on to the streets to draw attention to the struggle for reproductive, economic, and social justice across Pakistan. The marchers will be protesting against sexual harassment in the workplace, child marriage, “honour killings”, wage inequalities and limited political representation.

Read more here.

Australian High Court to Determine Legal Parentage of a Child Born via Sperm Donation

From The Conversation:

The family courts have historically treated legal parentage as a question of who has “begotten or borne” a child. But increasingly complex family situations created as a result of donor conception, surrogacy, IVF and DNA testing are sorely testing this biblical-sounding definition.

In 2019, the Australian High Court will be hearing the appeal concerning the legal parentage of a child born via sperm donation. This is a crucial opportunity for the court to reconsider the “begotten or borne” definition, and the emphasis currently placed on biology and how someone was conceived.

Read more here.