Children and Divorce
| Published date | 01 June 1972 |
| Date | 01 June 1972 |
| DOI | 10.1177/026455057201800203 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
41
CHILDREN
AND
DIVORCE
A
Group
of
Devon
Probation
Officers
ALL
EXPERIENCED
probation
officers
have
knowledge
of
the
very
severe
stress
caused
over
extremely
long
periods
to
children
who
are
not
in
a
position
to
protect
themselves.
Courts
seem
to
work
on
the
premise
that
those
appearing
before
them
are
reasonable
people,
but
parental
fights
for
custody
are
not
always
undertaken
out
of
a
genuine
desire
to
care
for
their
oil-spring
but
often
to
deprive
and
hurt
the
other
partner.
In
such
situations
even
the
most
reasonable
of
parents
can
lose
a
sense
of
proportion.
It
needs
to
be
asked
if
we
are
meeting
the
needs
of these
children
and
making
the
best
use
of
the
resources
available.
Certainly
we
as a
group
of
experienced
probation
officers
think
it
time
to
promote
some more
careful
thinking
on
the
subject.
The
urgency
to
muster
our
resources
is
highlighted
by
the
increase
in
divorce
and
the
consequent
demands
made
upon
us.
All
indications
are
that
the
numbers
will
continue
to
increase
over
the
next
few
years.
The
latest
figures
available
tell
us
that
the
number
of
children
affected
by
divorce
in
1969
was
81,000
but
this
can
be
expected
to
rise
sharply.
Our
experience
within
our
own
area
of
operation
is
to
record
an
increase
of
50
per
cent
in
cases
in
which
we
have
been
asked
to
prepare
enquiries
for
divorce
courts
since
the
new
Divorce
Reform
Act
became
law
in
January
1971.
These
figures
compare
in
numbers
with
those
reported
to
the
National
Association
of
Probation
Officers,
from
other
probation
areas
in
the
country, showing
increases
ranging
from
100
per
cent
to
35
per
cent.
In
enquiries
for
the
Divorce
Court
a
probation
officer
is
asked
to
assess
and
report
on
physical
and
emotional
factors
at
a
time
of
great
uncertainty
for
those
involved,
often
at
fairly
short
notice
and
within
a
limited
period
of
time.
Allowance
has
to
be
made
for
the
un-natural
relationships
between
parents
and
children
inherent
in
the
feeling
parties
have
at
such
time
that
someone
will
win
and
someone
will
lose.
The
decisions
made
commit
a
child
to
being
brought
up
by
one
parent.
Errors
of
judgement
can
be
ill-afforded,
and
damage
done
by
such
errors
is
not
easily
rectified.
There
are
also
many
cases
where
the
Divorce
Court
Welfare
Officer
has
not
been
required
to
make
reports,
the
situation
relating
to
children
having
been
presented
to
the
court
as
satisfactory
to
all
parties
and
accepted
as
such.
&dquo;Undoubtedly
there
is
a
great
difference
in
judicial
approach
to
those
cases
where
the
custody
is
not
in
issue,
compared
with
those
cases
where
the
custody
is
in
issue.
Many
judges
feel
instinctively
that
if
custody
is
not
in
issue
and
there
is
either
an
agreed
proposal
for
the
care
of
the
children
or
one
not
objected
to,
there
really
isn’t
much
point
in
their
making
any
enquiry.
This
is
a
relic
of
judicial
habit.
One
must
appreciate
the
realities
of
the
situation.
The
judicial
approach
towards
uncontested
custody
issues
differs
from
that
to
contested
issues.&dquo;
I
The
court
virtually
&dquo;rubber
stamps&dquo;
such
arrangements,
yet
later
difficulties
are
considerable,
revealed
when
problems
of
access
are
referred.
One
of
our
group
carries
a
total
of
seven
cases
of
this
nature,
which
are
not
reflected
in
statistical
returns,
referred
to
the
probation
officer
by
the casual
remarks
of
those
adjudicating
that
&dquo;the
probation
officer
will
help&dquo;.
Usually
one
of
the
parties
approaches
the
probation
officers
or
is
referred
by
a
solicitor.
The
nature
of
help
given
in
these
circumstances
is
very
limited
as
the
right
to
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