A critical analysis of family and relationships policies in England and Wales (1997–2011)

Klett-Davies, Martina

doi:10.1332/204674312x633207

Cited by 4 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…The emphasis we found on changing children's surnames in English adoption law and policy is, then, a representation of normative (patriarchal, heteronormative) ideas about surnames and family and kinship identities of 'belonging', and of men's privileged embodied named identities (Pilcher 2017). These patriarchal, (hetero)normative assumptions are embedded in adoption law and policy despite evidence, first, of the decreasing reliability of surnames for signaling family in contexts of diverse, fluid, and complicated kinship relations (Davies 2011, Finch 2008, Klett-Davis 2012, and second, that most adoptive couples who are same-sex give their child(ren) a hyphenated surname, created from the surname of each parent (Patterson and Farr 2017). Yet the emphasis we found in the texts on changing children's surnames could also be a recognition that, in being a family form that is already 'other', sharing a surname may be especially meaningful for families formed through adoption (e.g., Patterson and Farr 2017), including for adopted children themselves (Beek and Schofield 2002;Sinclair, Wilson, and Gibbs, 2001).…”

Section: 'Surnames and Family-making'mentioning

confidence: 99%

Names in adoption law and policy: representations of family, rights and identities

Pilcher

Coffey

2024

Families, Relationships and Societies

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Names have heightened importance in adoption, affecting the identities of individuals who are adopted and adoptive family making. In this article, we use critical discourse analysis to gauge how names, and especially children’s forenames, are addressed in the specificities of legal and policy texts governing and guiding the milieu of people affected by adoption in England. We argue that the inclusions, omissions and opacity of content on names we uncover are outcomes of underlying representations of ‘family’ within the texts, whereby ‘family surnaming’ is constructed as the pre-eminent naming issue in adoption, above children’s forename-based identity rights. Our focus on names in adoption advances sociological understandings of the power of names in representing family relationships and individual identities, and of how official discourses of law and policy can privilege some types of relationships over others, and the rights of some family members over others.

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Section: 'Surnames and Family-making'mentioning

confidence: 99%

Names in adoption law and policy: representations of family, rights and identities

Pilcher

Coffey

2024

Families, Relationships and Societies

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“…It is therefore important to note that party lines seem increasingly blurred when it comes to family policy and although many might expect a return to 'traditional' (heterosexual) family values from the Conservative-led coalition, their current moves towards same-sex marriage seems to suggest otherwise. Current policy documents imply continuity rather than a break with New Labour family policy, as aspects of these policies seemingly cross party-political boundaries (Klett-Davies, 2012). 15 However, when same-sex marriage is introduced in Britain we may in fact see a narrowing of the range of 'appropriate' intimacies, with a return to the promotion or marriage rather than the acceptance of a diverse range of family forms.…”

Section: The Future Of Family Policy Under the Coalition Governmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Learning to love again: ‘Broken families’, citizenship and the state promotion of coupledom

Wilkinson

2013

Geoforum

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a b s t r a c tThis article explores the ways in which coupledom is promoted through contemporary family policy in the UK. It does this in the context of dominant political discourses suggesting that broken relationships are a major political problem and the cause of almost all that is wrong with British society today. The paper performs an analysis of recent family policies, revealing narratives claiming that stable coupled relationships are the foundation of a strong nation. The reverse of this narrative, therefore, is that to not be in-or even worse, to not even aspire to be in-a coupled relationship is not just a personal failure, but a failure for the nation as a whole. The article therefore argues that the UK government encourages a particular type of intimate relationship, despite an increasing recognition of 'diverse' family forms. Building upon Rich's notion of compulsory heterosexuality, the article concludes that what we are witnessing in current British society is not compulsory heterosexuality, but compulsory coupledom.

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“…Government policies have also shifted in the last decade away from a focus on children (‘Every Child Matters’; DfES, ) to a focus on parent–child relationships (‘Every Parent Matters’; DfES, ) and the relationships in the family (including adult couple relationships; Klett‐Davies, ). The current coalition government continues to provide dedicated funding for relationship support, with £30 million allocated to 12 different relationship support providers from the voluntary and community sector (among them Relate) in the Spending Review period 2011–2015 (Spielhofer et al., ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

‘We argue a lot and don't talk with each other’: How distressed are families when seeking Relate family counselling?

Moller

2015

Couns and Psychother Res

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Aims Family counselling, with its preventative and supportive focus, could offer an important addition to higher intensity family therapy services, improving functioning for families in need. However, a basic question is whether families presenting to such services are, as assumed, less distressed than those presenting to National Health Service (NHS) services. This study therefore examined the levels of distress (child and family functioning) of families seeking help at a national voluntary sector family counselling service (Relate). In addition, the study explored how parents and children describe their families and understand the difficulties that brought them into family counselling. Method A total of 54 families (60 adults and 15 children) from one local Relate centre completed the ‘Systemic Clinical Outcome and Routine Evaluation’ Scale (SCORE‐15), the ‘Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scale III’ (FACES‐III) and the ‘Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire’ (SDQ) before counselling. The answers to three open SCORE questions (family and problem description) were analysed with a combination of thematic and content analysis. Results The quantitative results indicate moderate to high levels of distress reported by families when seeking Relate family counselling, comparable with NHS secondary service Child and Adolescent Mental Health contexts. The qualitative data show a broad range of problems at different levels (child‐related issues, family conflicts, marital break‐down and external pressure). Discussion The results indicate a potential mismatch between the preventative and low‐intensive focus of this kind of intervention and the levels of distress and problem severity in the help‐seeking population. Possible implications from these results for further research and therapeutic practice are explored.

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A critical analysis of family and relationships policies in England and Wales (1997–2011)

Cited by 4 publications

References 2 publications

Names in adoption law and policy: representations of family, rights and identities

Names in adoption law and policy: representations of family, rights and identities

Learning to love again: ‘Broken families’, citizenship and the state promotion of coupledom

‘We argue a lot and don't talk with each other’: How distressed are families when seeking Relate family counselling?

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