The best interests of the child in “mixed” couples’ divorce in Belgium and the Netherlands

Studies on the marital break-up of “mixed couples” in which partners have different nationalities and/or ethnicities pay little attention to how individual partners, notably the one with a migration background, experience the law and institutions concerning their children. Drawing on ethnographic ob...

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Main Author: Asuncion Fresnoza-Flot
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Oñati International Institute for the Sociology of Law 2021-08-01
Series:Oñati Socio-Legal Series
Subjects:
Online Access:https://opo.iisj.net/index.php/osls/article/view/1200
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author Asuncion Fresnoza-Flot
author_facet Asuncion Fresnoza-Flot
author_sort Asuncion Fresnoza-Flot
collection DOAJ
description Studies on the marital break-up of “mixed couples” in which partners have different nationalities and/or ethnicities pay little attention to how individual partners, notably the one with a migration background, experience the law and institutions concerning their children. Drawing on ethnographic observations and interviews with Filipino women in Belgium and the Netherlands, this paper investigates these migrants’ socio-legal experiences to shed light on their children’s situation during the divorce process. Paying attention to the principle of the “best interests of the child”, data analyses reveal that the children of women experiencing problematic divorce and/or domestic violence have more direct encounters with laws and/or institutions than those whose parents separated on good terms. Likewise, young people whose parent(s) resort to socio-legal assistance in their country of residence are more exposed to the legal aspects of divorce. This case study underlines the intersubjective dimension of divorce and suggests that state policies do shape individual lives.
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spelling doaj-art-8a561ce928d2496795e1442e8f1a92c02024-11-25T15:00:46ZengOñati International Institute for the Sociology of LawOñati Socio-Legal Series2079-59712021-08-01114990101110.35295/osls.iisl/0000-0000-0000-11801100The best interests of the child in “mixed” couples’ divorce in Belgium and the NetherlandsAsuncion Fresnoza-Flot0Université Libre de BruxellesStudies on the marital break-up of “mixed couples” in which partners have different nationalities and/or ethnicities pay little attention to how individual partners, notably the one with a migration background, experience the law and institutions concerning their children. Drawing on ethnographic observations and interviews with Filipino women in Belgium and the Netherlands, this paper investigates these migrants’ socio-legal experiences to shed light on their children’s situation during the divorce process. Paying attention to the principle of the “best interests of the child”, data analyses reveal that the children of women experiencing problematic divorce and/or domestic violence have more direct encounters with laws and/or institutions than those whose parents separated on good terms. Likewise, young people whose parent(s) resort to socio-legal assistance in their country of residence are more exposed to the legal aspects of divorce. This case study underlines the intersubjective dimension of divorce and suggests that state policies do shape individual lives.https://opo.iisj.net/index.php/osls/article/view/1200socio-legal encountersdivorcebest interests of the childmixed couplesfilipino migrant womenbelgiumthe netherlands
spellingShingle Asuncion Fresnoza-Flot
The best interests of the child in “mixed” couples’ divorce in Belgium and the Netherlands
Oñati Socio-Legal Series
socio-legal encounters
divorce
best interests of the child
mixed couples
filipino migrant women
belgium
the netherlands
title The best interests of the child in “mixed” couples’ divorce in Belgium and the Netherlands
title_full The best interests of the child in “mixed” couples’ divorce in Belgium and the Netherlands
title_fullStr The best interests of the child in “mixed” couples’ divorce in Belgium and the Netherlands
title_full_unstemmed The best interests of the child in “mixed” couples’ divorce in Belgium and the Netherlands
title_short The best interests of the child in “mixed” couples’ divorce in Belgium and the Netherlands
title_sort best interests of the child in mixed couples divorce in belgium and the netherlands
topic socio-legal encounters
divorce
best interests of the child
mixed couples
filipino migrant women
belgium
the netherlands
url https://opo.iisj.net/index.php/osls/article/view/1200
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