Feminist Perspectives On Family Law (feminist Perspectives)

FEMINIST PERSPECTIVES ON FAMILY LAW Feminist Perspectives on Family Law assesses the impact that feminism has had upon family law. In addition to issues of longstanding concern for feminists, it examines issues of current legal and political concern, such as civil partnerships, home-sharing, reproductive technologies, and new initiatives in regulating the family through criminal law, including domestic violence and youth justice. Deliberately broad in scope, it takes the view that family law cannot be defined in a traditional way. Alison Diduck is based in the Faculty of Laws, UCL. Katherine O’Donovan was formerly at the Department of Law, Queen Mary, University of London. FEMINIST PERSPECTIVES ON FAMILY LAW Edited by Alison Diduck and Katherine O’Donovan First published 2006 by Routledge-Cavendish 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 270 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016 A Glasshouse book Routledge-Cavendish is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2006 Alison Diduck and Katherine O’Donovan This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2007. “To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.” All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Feminist perspectives on family law / edited by Alison Diduck and Katherine O’ Donovan. p. cm. ISBN 1–904385–42–7 (hardback) – ISBN 0–415–42036–9 (pbk.) 1. Domestic relations. 2. Women – Legal status, laws, etc. 3. Family violence. 4. Parenting. 5. Feminist theory. I. Diduck, Alison. II. O’Donovan, Katherine. K670.F46 2006 346.01′5 – dc22 2006021952 ISBN 0–203–94538–7 Master e-book ISBN ISBN 10: 1–904385–42–7 (hbk) ISBN 10: 0–415–42036–9 (pbk) ISBN 13: 978–1–904385–42–4 (hbk) ISBN 13: 978–0–415–42036–5 (pbk) List of Contributors Anne Bottomley is Senior Lecturer in Law at the University of Kent. Richard Collier is Professor of Law at Newcastle University. Alison Diduck is Reader in Law at University College London. Emily Jackson is Professor of Law at Queen Mary, University of London. Caroline Jones is Lecturer in Law at the University of Southampton. Felicity Kaganas is Reader in Law at Brunel University. Maleiha Malik is Senior Lecturer in Law at King’s College London. Jill Marshall is Lecturer in Law at Queen Mary, University of London. Ann Mumford is Lecturer in Law at the London School of Economics. Katherine O’Donovan was formerly Professor of Law at Queen Mary, University of London. Christine Piper is Professor of Law at Brunel University. Carol Smart is Professor of Sociology at Manchester University. Carl Stychin is Professor of Law at the University of Reading. Simone Wong is Senior Lecturer in Law at the University of Kent. <