Abstract
This chapter explores the second theme of disrespect—intervention by Australian government authorities in response to family conflict and violence. Families are an important source of support for refugees. At the same time, forced migration and resettlement place huge demands on families, which can lead to conflict and, in some cases, violence within families. Drawing on participant narratives, different perspectives on the causes of high intergenerational conflict and violence are contrasted and related to recent research on parenting in a new social and legal environment. The second part of this chapter considers the effectiveness of current state interventions in response to family conflict in refugee migrant families and argues that well-intended, yet inappropriate and rigid responses from authorities frequently lead to negative outcomes and further distress. I explore the claim made by South Sudanese parents of being ill-served by the Australian system both substantively and procedurally.
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Notes
- 1.
A pseudonym to protect the identity of the participant.
- 2.
This ‘child protection orientation’ reflects the approach of the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Canada and New Zealand, but contrasts with the ‘family service orientation’ approach taken by countries such as Denmark, Sweden and the Netherlands (Bromfield & Holzer, 2008).
- 3.
The report used the following data sources: data extracted from Families SA, the statutory child protection agency in South Australia; survey, telephone interviews and a focus group of practitioners employed within Families SA; and community focus groups with seven refugee communities.
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Losoncz, I. (2019). ‘They Are Destroying Us’: Family Conflict and Institutional Intervention. In: Institutional Disrespect. Palgrave Pivot, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-7717-4_6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-7717-4_6
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