Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-745bb68f8f-mzp66 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-01-13T18:48:12.212Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

9 - Children's rights versus family privacy – physical punishment and financial support

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 June 2012

Jane Fortin
Jane Fortin
Affiliation:
University of Sussex
Get access

Summary

Introduction

Parents are best placed to protect and promote their children's rights and the vast majority of them do so very happily. Nevertheless, the privacy of family life ensures that parents can also tyrannise and abuse their children. Indeed, the physical dependence of young children makes an imbalance in power between them and their parents inevitable. It is clear that the law could do more to ensure that parents paid greater attention to their children's rights, if it took a more interventionist role. But social policy, strongly influenced by common assumptions about family privacy and parental autonomy, reflects a distinct lack of sympathy for the view that the law should attempt to interfere with family life.

This chapter starts by assessing the extent to which the assumption that the family should be free from legal regulation underlies current legislation governing the relationship between children and their parents. It then considers two areas which, despite being very different in content, demonstrate well the law's reluctance to intervene in order to promote children's rights. It assesses first the legal principles governing parents' right to control and discipline their children as they think fit. Second, it considers the law's treatment of the child's right to financial support and to be brought up with a reasonable standard of living. Both areas of law reflect how the concept of ‘private ordering’ dominates policies in these fields.

Type
Chapter
Information
Children's Rights and the Developing Law , pp. 321 - 362
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2009

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Adam, S. and Brewer, M. (2004) Supporting Families: The Financial Costs and Benefits of Children Since 1975, Policy Press.Google Scholar
Altman, S. (2003) ‘A Theory of Child Support’ 17 International Journal of Law, Policy and the Family173.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Attree, P. (2006) ‘The Social Costs of Child Poverty: A Systematic Review of the Qualitative Evidence’ 20 Children and Society54.Google Scholar
Bell, A, Kazimirski, A. and Valle, I. (2006) An Investigation of CSA Maintenance Direct Payments: Qualitative Study, DWP Research Report No. 327, DWP.
Blanden, J. and Gibbons, S. (2006) The Persistence of Poverty Across Generations: a View From Two British Cohorts, Joseph Rowntree Foundation.Google Scholar
Bradshaw, J. (2005) ‘Child Poverty and Deprivation’ in Bradshaw, J. (ed.) The Well-being of Children in the UK, Save the Children.
Brown, G. (1999) ‘A Scar on the Nation's Soul’ 104 Poverty8.Google Scholar
Buck, K. (2007) Still Home Alone: Developing ‘Next Generation’ Care for Older Children, 4Children.
,Cabinet Office (2006) Reaching Out: An Action Plan on Social Exclusion, Cabinet Office.
,Cabinet Office (2007) Reaching Out: Think Family, Cabinet Office.
,Cabinet Office (2008) Think Family: Improving the Life Chances of Families at Risk, Cabinet Office.
,Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG) (2008) The Social Security (Lone Parents and Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2008, Submission by the Child Poverty Action Group, CPAG.
,Commission on Children and Violence (1995) Children and Violence, Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation.
,Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (2002) Concluding Observations of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland – Dependent Territories 2002 E/C 12/1/Add 79, Centre for Human Rights, Geneva.
,Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (2008) Concluding Observations of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, CEDAW/C/GBR/CO/6, Geneva.
,Committee on the Rights of the Child (1995) Concluding Observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland CRC/C/15/Add 34, Centre for Human Rights, Geneva.
,Committee on the Rights of the Child (2002) Concluding Observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland CRC/C/15/Add 188, Centre for Human Rights, Geneva.
,Committee on the Rights of the Child (2006) General Comment No 8 (2006) The Right of the Child to Protection From Corporal Punishment and Other Cruel or Degrading Forms of Punishment, Centre for Human Rights, Geneva.
,Committee on the Rights of the Child (2008) Concluding Observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland CRC/C/GBR/CO/4, Centre for Human Rights, Geneva.
Cooke, G. and Lawton, K. (2008) Working Out of Poverty: a Study of the Low-Paid and the ‘Working Poor’, Institute for Public Policy Research.
,Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) (2004) Offence Against the Person, Incorporating the Charging Standard, CPS.
Davis, G., Wikeley, N. and Young, R. (1998) Child Support in Action, Hart Publishing.Google Scholar
Davies, H. and Joshi, H. (2001) ‘Who has Borne the Cost of Britain's Children in the 1990s?’ in Vleminckx, K. and Smeeding, T. (eds.) Child Well-Being, Child Poverty and Child Policy in Modern Nations: What Do We Know?, The Policy Press.Google Scholar
,Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) (2007) Cm 7280 The Children's Plan: Building Brighter Futures, TSO.
,Department for Education and Skills (DfES) (2007a) Every Parent Matters, DfES
,Department for Education and Skills (DfES) (2007b) Cm 7232 Review of Section 58 of the Children Act 2004, TSO.
,Department for Education and Skills (DfES) (2007c) The Consolidated 3rd and 4th Periodic Report to UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, UK Government, DfES.
,Department for Health and Social Security (DHSS) (1974) Cm 5629 Report of the Committee on One-Parent Families, HMSO.
,Department for Social Security (DSS) (1990) vols I and II, Cm 1264 Children Come First, HMSO.
,Department for Social Security (DSS) (1998a) Cm 3805 Green Paper New Ambitions for our Country: A New Contract for Welfare, DSS.
,Department for Social Security (DSS) (1998b) Cm 3992 White Paper Children First: a New Approach to Child Support, TSO.
,Department for Social Security (DSS) (1999) Cm 4349 A New Contract for Welfare: Children's Rights and Parents' Responsibilities, TSO.
,Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) (2006a) Cm 6915 Opportunity for All, Eighth Annual Report 2006, Strategy Document, TSO.
,Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) (2006b) Cm 6895 A Fresh Start: Child Support Redesign – the Government's Response to Sir David Henshaw, TSO.
,Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) (2006c) Cm 6979, A New System of Child Maintenance, TSO.
,Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) (2007a) Working for Children, DWP.
,Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) (2007b) Cm 7290 Ready for Work: Full Employment in our Generation, TSO.
,Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) (2007c) Cm 7061 A New System of Child Maintenance, Summary of Responses to the Consultation, TSO.
,Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) (2007d) Cm 7062 Report on the Child Maintenance White Paper, a New System of Child Maintenance, TSO.
,Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) (2008) Cm 7506 Raising Expectations and Increasing Support: Reforming Welfare for the Future, TSO.
,Department of Health (DH) (2000) Protecting Children, Supporting Parents: A Consultation Document on the Physical Punishment of Children, DH.
,Department of Health (DH) (2001) Analysis of Responses to the ‘Protecting Children, Supporting Parents’ Consultation Document, DH.
Dex, S. (2003) Families and Work in the Twenty-first Century, Joseph Rowntree Foundation.Google Scholar
Douglas, G. (2000) ‘The Family, Gender, and Social Security’ in Harris, N. with Douglas, G., Hervey, T., Jones, S., Rahilly, S., Sainsbury, R. and Wikeley, N.Social Security in Context, Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Durrant, J. (2000) A Generation Without Smacking: The Impact of Sweden's Ban on Physical Punishment, Save the Children.
Eekelaar, J. and Maclean, M. (1986) Maintenance After Divorce, Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Fredman, S. (2006) ‘Human Rights Transformed: Positive Duties and Positive Rights’ AUT Public Law 498.
Freud, D. (2007) Reducing Dependency, Increasing Opportunity: Options for the Future of Welfare to Work. An Independent Report to the Department of Work and Pensions, CDS.
Gershoff, E. (2002) ‘Corporal Punishment by Parents and Associated Child Behaviours and Experiences: A Meta-Analytic and Theoretical Review’ 128 Psychological Bulletin539.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
,HM Government (2009) Next Steps for Early Learning and Childcare, DCSF.
,HM Treasury (2003) Cm 5860 Every Child Matters, TSO.
,HM Treasury (2007) Aiming High for Children: Supporting Families, TSO.
,HM Treasury (2008) HC 388 Budget 2008, TSO.
,HM Treasury, Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) (2008) Ending Child Poverty: Everybody's Business, HM Treasury.
Hale, B. (2006) ‘Understanding Children's Rights: Theory and Practice’ 44 Family Court Review350.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harker, L. (2006a) Closing the Gap: Combating the Causes of Child Poverty in London, Association of London Government.Google Scholar
Harker, L. (2006b) Cm 6951 Delivering on Child Poverty: What Would it Take?, TSO
L, Harker (2006c) ‘Tackling Poverty in the UK’ 13(1) IPPR43.Google Scholar
Henricson, C. (2003) Government and Parenting, Joseph Rowntree Foundation.Google Scholar
Henshaw, D. (2006) Recovering Child Support: Routes to Responsibility, Cm 6894, TSO.
Hirsch, D. (2006) What Will it Take to End Child Poverty? Firing on All Cylinders, Joseph Rowntree Foundation.Google Scholar
Hoggett, B. (1994) ‘Joint Parenting Systems: the English Experiment’ 6 Journal of Child Law8.Google Scholar
,House of Commons Work and Pensions Committee (HCWPC) (2004) The Performance of the Child Support Agency, Second Report of Session 2004–05 Volume I, HC 44–1, TSO.
,House of Commons Work and Pensions Committee (HCWPC) (2007) Child Support Reform, Fourth Report of Session 2006–07, HC 219-I, TSO.
,House of Commons Work and Pensions Committee (HCWPC) (2008) The Best Start in Life? Alleviating Deprivation, Improving Social Mobility and Eradicating Child Poverty, Second Report of Session 2007–08, Volume I, HC 42–1, TSO.
Hooper, C.-A., Gorin, S., Cabral, C. and Dyson, C. (2007) Living with Hardship 24/7: the Diverse Experiences of Families in Poverty in England, The Frank Buttle Trust.
,IPPR Trading Ltd (2007) Disability 2020: Opportunities for the Full and Equal Citizenship of Disabled People in Britain in 2020, IPPR.
,Joint Committee on Human Rights (JCHR) (2003) The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, Tenth Report of Session 2002–03, HL Paper 117/HC 81, TSO.
,Joint Committee on Human Rights (JCHR) (2004) Children Bill, Nineteenth Report of Session 2003–04, HL Paper 161/ HC 537, TSO.
Keating, H. (2006) ‘Protecting or Punishing Children: Physical Punishment, Human Rights and English Law Reform’ 26 Legal Studies394.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
,Law Commission (1988) Review of Child Law, Guardianship and Custody Law Com No 172, HC 594, HMSO.
Lewis, J. (2000) ‘Family Policy in the Post-war Period’ in Katz, S., Eekelaar, J. and Maclean, M. (eds.) Cross Currents: Family Law and Policy in the US and England, Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Lewis, J. (2001) ‘Women, Men and the Family’ in Seldon, A. (ed.) The Blair Effect, Little, Brown and Company.Google Scholar
Lowe, N. and Douglas, G. (2007) Bromley's Family Law, Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Magadi, M. and Middleton, S. (2007) Severe Child Poverty in the UK, Save the Children.Google Scholar
Middleton, S., Ashworth, K. and Braithwaite, I. (1997) Small Fortunes: Spending on Children, Childhood Poverty and Parental Sacrifice, Joseph Rowntree Foundation.Google Scholar
Minow, M. (1986) ‘Rights for the Next Generation: A Feminist Approach to Children's Rights’ 9 Harvard Women's Law Journal1.Google Scholar
,National Audit Office (2006) Child Support Agency – Implementation of the Child Support Reforms, TSO.
,Northern Ireland Office of Law Reform (2001) Physical Punishment in the Home – Thinking About the Issues, Looking at the Evidence A consultation paper for Northern Ireland, Office of Law Reform.
Ofsted (2008) Early Years: Leading to Excellence, Ofsted.
Palmer, G., MacInnes, T. and Kenway, P. (2007) Monitoring Poverty and Social Exclusion 2007, Joseph Rowntree Foundation.Google Scholar
Palmer, G., MacInnes, T. and Kenway, P. (2008) Monitoring Poverty and Social Exclusion 2008Joseph Rowntree Foundation.Google Scholar
Parkinson, P. (2007) ‘Reengineering the Child Support Scheme: An Australian Perspective on the British Government's Proposals’ 70 Modern Law Review812.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Payne, L. (2007) Childcare Act 2006, Highlight no 234, National Children's Bureau.
Pinnock, K. and Evans, R. (2008) ‘Developing Responsive Preventative Practices : Key Messages from Children's and Families’ Experiences of the Children's Fund' 22 Children and Society86.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ridge, T. (2005) ‘Supporting Children? The Impact of Child Support Policies on Children's Wellbeing in the UK and Australia’ 34 Journal of Social Policy121.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ridge, T. (2006) ‘Childhood Poverty: a Barrier to Social Participation and Inclusion’ in Kay, E., Tisdall, M., Davis, J., Hill, M. and Prout, A. (eds.) Children, Young People and Social Inclusion, Policy Press.Google Scholar
Rutter, M. (chairman) (2005) Commission on Families and the Wellbeing of Children, Families and the State: Two-way Support and Responsibilities, The Policy Press.Google Scholar
Shropshire, J. and Middleton, S. (1999) Small Expectations: Learning to be Poor?, Joseph Rowntree Foundation.Google Scholar
Smith, R. (2004) ‘“Hands-off parenting?” – Towards a Reform of the Defence of Reasonable Chastisement in the UK’ 16 Child and Family Law Quarterly261.Google Scholar
Stanley, K., Bellamy, K. and Cooke, G. (2006) Equal Access? Appropriate and Affordable Childcare for Every Child, Institute of Public Policy Research.Google Scholar
,UNICEF, Innocenti Research Centre (2000) A League Table of Child Poverty in Rich Nations Innocenti Report Card Issue No 1 June 2000, UNICEF.
,UNICEF, Innocenti Research Centre (2007) Child Poverty in Perspective: An Overview of Child Well-being in Rich Countries, Report Card 7, UNICEF.
,UNICEF, Innocenti Research Centre (2008) The Child Care Transition: A League Table of Early Childhood Education and Care in Economically Advanced Countries, Report Card 8, UNICEF.
,United Nations General Assembly (2002) A/RES/S-27/2, A World Fit for Children, Resolution adopted by the General Assembly, Geneva.
,United Nations General Assembly (2006) A/61/150, Report of the Independent Expert for the United Nations study on Violence Against Children, Geneva.
Utting, D. (1995) Family and Parenthood: Supporting Families, Preventing Breakdown, Joseph Rowntree Foundation.Google Scholar
Utting, D. (2003) ‘Tackling Disadvantage: Families’ in Darton, D. and Strelitz, J. (eds.) Tackling UK Poverty and Disadvantage in the Twenty-first Century, Joseph Rowntree Foundation.Google Scholar
Wald, M. (1979) ‘Children's Rights: A Framework for Analysis’ 12 University of California Davis Law Review225–282.Google Scholar
Walsh, B. (1991) ‘The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child’ 5 International Journal of Law and the Family170.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wasoff, F. (2005) ‘Mutual Consent: Separation Agreements and the Outcomes of Private Ordering in Divorce’ 27 Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law237.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wikeley, N. (2006a) Child Support: Law and Policy, Hart Publishing.Google Scholar
Wikeley, N. (2006b) ‘A Duty But Not a Right: Child Support After R (Kehoe) v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions’ 18 Child and Family Law Quarterly287.Google Scholar
Wikeley, N. (2007a) ‘Secretary of State for Work and Pensions v Roach’ [2006] EWCA Civ 1746' 29 Journal Social Welfare and Family Law177.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wikeley, N. (2007b) ‘Child Support Reform – Throwing the Baby out with the Bathwater?’ 19 Child and Family Law Quarterly434.Google Scholar
Wikeley, N. (2008a) ‘The Strange Death of the Liable Relative Rule’ 38 Family Law52.Google Scholar
Wikeley, N. (2008b) ‘Child Support: Carrots and Sticks’ 38 Family Law1102.Google Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure no-reply@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×