Guaranteed or conditional child maintenance? Examining the 2016 reform in Sweden
(2022) In Critical Social Policy 42(3). p.428-447- Abstract
- Family policies promoting gender equality and parents’ shared responsibility for their children tend to assume good parental collaboration post separation. However, this assumption obscures the reality of conflict and intimate partner violence (IPV) in some separated families. Focusing on Sweden, this article examines the 2016 reform which implies that the state ceases acting as an intermediary to organise child maintenance unless ‘special reasons’, including the experience of IPV, are invoked. Thus, the Swedish guaranteed child maintenance scheme became conditional. Drawing on interviews with resident parents and case officers at the Swedish Social Insurance Agency (SSIA), this article suggests that the reform increases the vulnerability... (More)
- Family policies promoting gender equality and parents’ shared responsibility for their children tend to assume good parental collaboration post separation. However, this assumption obscures the reality of conflict and intimate partner violence (IPV) in some separated families. Focusing on Sweden, this article examines the 2016 reform which implies that the state ceases acting as an intermediary to organise child maintenance unless ‘special reasons’, including the experience of IPV, are invoked. Thus, the Swedish guaranteed child maintenance scheme became conditional. Drawing on interviews with resident parents and case officers at the Swedish Social Insurance Agency (SSIA), this article suggests that the reform increases the vulnerability of resident parents in several ways. Moreover, the ‘special reasons’ exemption creates a new distinction between ‘violent’ and ‘normal’ families, which case workers struggle to administer, and which leads to a withdrawal of state support for many families. (Less)
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https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/e51ea6db-1357-4e29-962b-7f13a3a184a4
- author
- Fernqvist, Stina and Sépulchre, Marie LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2022
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- child maintenance, family policies, intimate partner violence, Sweden
- in
- Critical Social Policy
- volume
- 42
- issue
- 3
- pages
- 428 - 447
- publisher
- SAGE Publications
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:85112427501
- ISSN
- 0261-0183
- DOI
- 10.1177/02610183211036563
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- e51ea6db-1357-4e29-962b-7f13a3a184a4
- date added to LUP
- 2021-08-18 10:05:24
- date last changed
- 2022-06-30 00:22:15
@article{e51ea6db-1357-4e29-962b-7f13a3a184a4, abstract = {{Family policies promoting gender equality and parents’ shared responsibility for their children tend to assume good parental collaboration post separation. However, this assumption obscures the reality of conflict and intimate partner violence (IPV) in some separated families. Focusing on Sweden, this article examines the 2016 reform which implies that the state ceases acting as an intermediary to organise child maintenance unless ‘special reasons’, including the experience of IPV, are invoked. Thus, the Swedish guaranteed child maintenance scheme became conditional. Drawing on interviews with resident parents and case officers at the Swedish Social Insurance Agency (SSIA), this article suggests that the reform increases the vulnerability of resident parents in several ways. Moreover, the ‘special reasons’ exemption creates a new distinction between ‘violent’ and ‘normal’ families, which case workers struggle to administer, and which leads to a withdrawal of state support for many families.}}, author = {{Fernqvist, Stina and Sépulchre, Marie}}, issn = {{0261-0183}}, keywords = {{child maintenance; family policies; intimate partner violence; Sweden}}, language = {{eng}}, number = {{3}}, pages = {{428--447}}, publisher = {{SAGE Publications}}, series = {{Critical Social Policy}}, title = {{Guaranteed or conditional child maintenance? Examining the 2016 reform in Sweden}}, url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/02610183211036563}}, doi = {{10.1177/02610183211036563}}, volume = {{42}}, year = {{2022}}, }