GOING BEYOND THE GENDER PARADIGM: A NEW PERSPECTIVE ON INTERPARENTAL CONFLICT, FAMILY VIOLENCE, AND FATHERING AFTER SEPARATION

Edward Kruk (Edward.kruk@ubc.ca)

Abstract

This article focuses on the intersection of interparental conflict, family violence, and fathering after parental separation. We review key research findings related to this intersection, including general family violence research, as well as parenting-after-separation-specific family violence research. We then examine the core components of responsible father involvement in children’s lives after parental separation, including shared parental responsibility for children, in light of these findings. Finally, we discuss recommendations for socio-legal reform, as well as for therapeutic practice, aimed at the reduction of interparental conflict and prevention of family violence during and after parental separation, to enable fathers to share parental responsibility in the best interests of children and the post-separation family.

Keywords: fathering, family violence, interparental conflict, parental separation, shared parenting

Author Biography

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Dr. Edward Andrew Kruk is Associate Professor Emeritus at the University of British Columbia (UBC), specializing in child and family policy and practice, who also practices as a family mediator in Vancouver, Canada. He is the author of five books and numerous research articles on the subjects of shared parenting responsibility, family violence, parental alienation, family mediation, and fathering after separation. In addition to thirty years on faculty at UBC, he has worked as a professor at the University of Calgary Faculty of Social Work, as family therapist with Catholic Family Services in Calgary, medical social worker with the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Edinburgh, school social worker with the Metro Separate School Board in Toronto, and child protection worker with the Metro and Catholic Children’s Aid Societies in Toronto. He is an active member of several local and international NGO’s, including serving as current President of the International Council on Shared Parenting. He is the recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Award for his service to children and families, and is the father of two boys, Stephan and Liam

Contact details: Edward.kruk@ubc.ca

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