This research paper explores the family as it is perceived in Australian society, both from public and private contexts. Essentially, the writer deals with whether private family matters are interpreted by Australian society as public concerns in order to bring greater equal rights and legal justice to women. There is a particular focus on the subject of spousal abuse within this exploration. This five page paper has four sources in the bibliography.
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as beneficial to women who are abused, there are still many factors within the institution of marriage which are not considered equal. If true equality were to exist in the
legal marital contract and be reflected in the courts and the eyes of society, more family matters could still remain private for both partners who would feel they had equal
representation. As the system stands now however, it is generally felt that women, in order to get equal rights, benefits and legal justice, have to divulge more private family matters
to the public and try and battle against the general acceptance that the man in the family provides financial support and is responsible for family discipline and should not be
provoked into abusive situations while the woman within a private marital relationship should respect and accommodate those assumptions. Within the Australian Social Security
System there are essentially two major forms of income support considered under areas of those which are work-related such as unemployment benefits and disability, and those which are family related
such as sole parent pensions. The work related support is considered as the "public sphere" of support and the family related is considered as the "private sphere" (Graycar and Morgan,
1992). Women are those primarily affected by the private sphere support group, however in order to be eligible for support, certain aspects of their private lives must be assessed in
order to prove eligibility for benefits. The primary source of government income support for women are the sole parent pensions meant for women who do not live in marriages or
"heterosexual marriage-like relationships". Women, who have children under the age of 16, and who are divorced, widowed, or separated are considered as single parents. Legally, women who cohabitate with men,