Australia has failed to recognize and respond to the grave issue of non-payment of child support that amounts to economic abuse of women, who make up nearly 85% of child support payees and are usually the primary carer for children, a report released by Women’s Legal Services Australia (WLSA) stated.
The report said the Australian government agencies and financial institutions are yet to recognize this denial of child support as economic abuse, how fathers denying child support entitlements escape penalty and the system failed to provide a redressal system to women, who are often the primary caregivers of children in separation agreements.
Stating how the system focuses on the abuse that occurs in the context of partner relationships, but fails to address the financial abuse after separation, the report detailed how non-payment of child support is not recognized as abuse by the people experiencing it, perpetrating it, and those responding to it.
The child support system is also linked to Family Tax Benefits. WLSA’s executive officer, Lara Freidin, says fathers take “extraordinary measures” to reduce their taxable incomes and deny paying for child support.
Men utilize different methods to not make the payment, like they transfer money elsewhere, delay reporting income increase and filing tax returns. There are also websites advising men how to do this through working cash in hand or declaring less, The Guardian reported.
Men believe that child support payment benefits the mother and so they want access to how their ex-partner is spending the money, giving them an “an undesirable amount of control.” Women are at a disadvantage while dealing with the system as they have to provide personal details like their location or bank statements. The father who gets access to the information could use it to argue against the spending habits of the ex-partner.
Calling it a “tool of violence”, WLSA urged for immediate intervention to reform the current system and sought an urgent need to raise public awareness on the issue.
