Family Policies. Flashcards
The ‘Troubled families policy’ was in
2010
What did the ‘Troubled families policy’ do?
£448 million was put towards assisting families with financial difficulties.
The idea being it would lift families off on benefits in line with the Coalitions austerity measures
What was the issue with ‘Troubled families policy’?
It was criticised for being out of touch; local authorities were given their budget and given no direction as to the best way to spend it on families to turn their situation around.
. Councils could easily report a success rate that didn’t have an actual impact.
It didn’t work in many respects
- There was largely very little change in the amount of adults claiming out of work benefits
- No detectable impacts on criminal offending or truancy at schools.
Communist Romania did what?
Prohibited access to contraception and abortion in order to increase the population to bolster the economy.
They also taxed unmarried/childless couples more.
What’s the issue with Communist Romania’s policy
It lead to more backalley abortions, endangering women.
It subordinated women.
It created an orphanage crisis later on, which in particular after the government collapse were found to be very neglected.
What was the Nazi party’s family policy?
- restricting abortion and contraception to ‘breed the master race’
- limit women’s work opportunities to incentives domestic life.
- Sterilisation of disabled people, or killing them.
- The Hitler youth groups, a scouts group to indoctrinate children.
What was China’s family policy?
The one child policy.
Creating a permission list to get pregnant.
Those complying with policy were rewarded with benefits and more access to socialised childcare and medicine
Those who broke away were taxed harder.
In 2015 the Chinese government made it a…
2 child policy.
Effects of the 1 child policy.
Gender imbalance in the population.
Foucault’s theory of surveillance informs the work of Donzelot. What is Donzelot’s theory?
Social workers and health workers have a monopoly on specific/specialist knowledge that allows them to police the family.
The poorest are targeted the most because they’re often seen as problematic, parasitic or feckless. Policy therefore is often designed to control them.
How might the state police the family?
. Restricting/disincentivising having children
. Fining families for keeping their children out of compulsory education
. Restricting access to abortion
. Locking tax benefits behind getting marriage
Who’s responsible for the New right theory of dependency culture?
Charles Murray.
What did the New Labour governments of 1997 onwards do in relation to family policy?
. Longer maternity leave
. New deal, helping lone parents to return to work more easily.
. Giving unmarried couples the same right to adopt
. Outlawing discrimination on the basis of sexuality.
What types of families do New right policies favour and what types of families do New Labour policies favour?
New Right: the traditional nuclear family
New Labour: the Neo-conservative family (eg: Chester), where both partners earn.
What did Thatchers government do in relation to homosexuality?
Outlawed its promotion or inclusion in education in local authorities.
What do democratic society’s family policies usually do?
The Family is seen as a private Sphere and so there’s less intrusion by the state.
Because of dominantly modern Liberal principles, the government is a facilitator not an instigator or controller.
School was made compulsory in what year roughly?
1870
What year was the divorce reform act?
1969
When was gay marriage legalised in the U.K
2013
What did Labour do in relation to couples having children?
Extended both maternity and paternity leave. However, maternity leave is much longer with fathers only getting 2 weeks.
Remember Land’s commentary on what family policy tends to do?
Land noted that there’s a self fulfilling prophesy maintained within the way family policies replicate women’s lesser status
How might family policy be a self fulfilling prophecy in maintaining women’s subjugation under patriarchy?
and which theorist (for bonus points) came up with this point?
- Child care being further left to the market, means that women who under patriarchy are considered by default the better carers, will be expected to suspend their own careers.
- Tax incentives locked behind marriage in traditional family structures put pressure on women to marry and assuming feminist positions on men not pulling their weight in domestic work, this subordinates women.
Land’s theory.
Foucault’s theory of surveillance informs what theory?
Donzelot’s theory of policing the family.
Donzelot’s policing of the family theory makes a point regarding the middle class dictating to the working class.
Middle class ideals dictate what is and isn’t a stable and or moral family arrangement.
This informs policy because most ‘experts’ also affirm these premises.
