Understanding the Child Contact System
摘要
Scally explores policy and legislation that govern and guide child contact in England and Wales with a clear focus on intimate partner violence and abuse (IPVA). For example, child arrangements orders, practice direction 12J, and the presumption of parental involvement. The chapter explores the child contact system in the context of intimate partner violence and abuse, applying systems theories such as those by Bronfenbrenner (The Ecology of Human Development: Experiments by Nature and Design. Harvard University Press, 1979) and Bertalanffy (1972) as a framework to understand how the differing aims of the various organisations involved in the system interact. The challenges associated with differing aims and professional practice are explained, with the impact on survivors highlighted throughout. The chapter works towards goals 5 (gender equality) and 16 (peace, justice, and strong institutions) of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.