Allegations of child sexual abuse in the Family Court of Australia
Response to Parkinson
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 11229154 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Lawrence J Moloney (0000-0001-8171-5822, La Trobe University Melbourne Victoria Australia, corresponding author), Nola Webb (Supreme Court of NSW Lismore New South Wales Australia), Bruce M Smyth (0000-0003-3514-5325, Australian National University Canberra Australian Capital Territory Australia), Robyn L Murphy (Technologies Consultant Melbourne Victoria Australia) |
| Year | 2023 |
| Volume | 58 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 331-342 |
| Publication date | 2023-06-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Australian Journal of Social Issues (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0157-6321 • E-ISSN: 1839-4655 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1002/ajs4.239 |
| OpenAlex | W4306938355 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 8 |
In this article, we respond to commentary by Patrick Parkinson on our research into allegations of child sexual abuse in the Family Court of Australia (both published in AJSI, vol 56, 2021). Parkinson's primary focus was on two of our key findings: (a) that the child was deemed to be at an unacceptable risk of harm in only 12 per cent of fully contested cases; and (b) that in only 14 per cent of the fully contested cases were the allegations coded as being believed. Parkinson suggested that the fully contested cases are disproportionately those in which police, child protection department staff or independent evaluators have been unable to reach a clear view; and that typically these cases involve children under 7 years old. He concluded that the Family Court was in the “too hard basket” of the child protection system and that our findings were not necessarily indicative of systemic failure. We think both suggestions, as well as the “too hard basket” conclusion, are problematic and explain why. Parkinson's comments have stimulated us to reflect on how Australian family courts are managing this important and complex area of decision‐making and what changes may be required into the future
Child protection · Child sexual abuse · Criminology · Family court · Harm · High Court · Medical emergency · Poison control · Political science · Project commissioning · Psychiatry · Publishing · Sexual abuse · Suicide prevention · Child Abuse and Trauma · Intimate Partner and Family Violence · Law · Medicine · Psychology · Sexual Assault and Victimization Studies
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |