Citation

Bala N. J. Fam. Stud. 2008; 14(2-3): 271-278.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2008, Informa- Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.5172/jfs.327.14.2-3.271

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Comments on an article Allegations of Family Violence and Child Abuse in Family Law Children's Proceedings: A Pre-reform Exploratory Study by L. Moloney et al. (2007). This comment discusses the historical development of social attitudes, social science research, and approaches in the justice system towards allegations of spousal and child abuse. Until relatively recently, victims of child abuse and spousal violence were largely ignored by the justice system, mental health professionals and social science researchers, and these victims rarely disclosed. In the late twentieth century, heavily influenced by feminist advocates and researchers, spousal violence and child sexual abuse were discovered'; there was growing understanding and support for victims, and a great increase in reporting of child and spousal violence. The increase in reporting by genuine victims was accompanied a less frequent but serious problem—cases of false and exaggerated allegations. While a gendered basis analysis of issues of spousal and child abuse remains valuable, there is a need for development of more sophisticated and differentiated understandings of intimate partner violence and child abuse. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)