Mechanisms for Achieving Justice for Women
- Submitted by: HananMahmud
- Views: 426
- Category: Other
- Date Submitted: 02/13/2014 12:02 AM
- Pages: 10
- Report this Essay
Mechanisms for Achieving Justice for Women
The changing status of women following the Family Law Act 1975 regarding divorce, property division, spousal maintenance and child support
The Whitlam Labour government which came to office in December 1972 was responsive to growing demand to investigate women’s issues. This was evident through Whitlam’s opening speech in the election campaign in Blacktown, Sydney which was addressed to ‘men and women of Australia’, a clear indication of the Whitlam government’s commitment to include women and women’s issues in the goals of the Labor Party, to ‘liberate talents and lift horizons’ of all Australians. Many laws have been passed since the 1970s to protect and benefit the status of women. This includes The Family Law Act (1975).
The Family Law Act (1975) established the concept of ‘no fault’ divorce, allowing divorce to be settled without declaration of liability or responsibility by either party. This law removed the social stigma of the guilty wife, which society imposed on divorced women. As a consequence of the Family Law Act (1975), women were able to fairly pursue the right to obtain property from the marriage or contest for custody of the children. The principle of no-fault divorce in Australian law meant that a court does not consider why the marriage ended. The only ground for divorce is that the marriage has broken down irretrievably and that there is no reasonable chance that you will get back together.
A significant amount of The Family Law Act deals with the division of property and finances after relationship breakdown. Similarly to the case with children’s issues, the Constitution allows the Commonwealth to make laws and decisions about property only in relation to marital breakdown. This situation effectively discriminated against unmarried couples, who were required to take their property disputes to the state court instead. Not only are the costs of going to a state court much higher than the costs...
The changing status of women following the Family Law Act 1975 regarding divorce, property division, spousal maintenance and child support
The Whitlam Labour government which came to office in December 1972 was responsive to growing demand to investigate women’s issues. This was evident through Whitlam’s opening speech in the election campaign in Blacktown, Sydney which was addressed to ‘men and women of Australia’, a clear indication of the Whitlam government’s commitment to include women and women’s issues in the goals of the Labor Party, to ‘liberate talents and lift horizons’ of all Australians. Many laws have been passed since the 1970s to protect and benefit the status of women. This includes The Family Law Act (1975).
The Family Law Act (1975) established the concept of ‘no fault’ divorce, allowing divorce to be settled without declaration of liability or responsibility by either party. This law removed the social stigma of the guilty wife, which society imposed on divorced women. As a consequence of the Family Law Act (1975), women were able to fairly pursue the right to obtain property from the marriage or contest for custody of the children. The principle of no-fault divorce in Australian law meant that a court does not consider why the marriage ended. The only ground for divorce is that the marriage has broken down irretrievably and that there is no reasonable chance that you will get back together.
A significant amount of The Family Law Act deals with the division of property and finances after relationship breakdown. Similarly to the case with children’s issues, the Constitution allows the Commonwealth to make laws and decisions about property only in relation to marital breakdown. This situation effectively discriminated against unmarried couples, who were required to take their property disputes to the state court instead. Not only are the costs of going to a state court much higher than the costs...