Men’s participation in unpaid care - A review of the literature
Table 8: Award of custody
| Year | Mother | Father | Shared | Divided | Total | Mother only /Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | 1487 | 242 | 93 | 62 | 1884 | 78.9% |
| 1986 | 1628 | 220 | 127 | 55 | 2030 | 80.2% |
| 1987 | 1384 | 223 | 137 | 75 | 1819 | 76.1% |
| 1988 | 1459 | 226 | 156 | 65 | 1906 | 76.5% |
| 1989 | 1674 | 250 | 162 | 82 | 2168 | 77.2% |
| 1990 | 1578 | 242 | 144 | 58 | 2022 | 78.0% |
| Y/E Jun06 | 1358 | 234 | 232 | 1824 | 74.5% |
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Footnotes
[21]1985-1990 data from the answer to 1995 parliamentary question for written answer no.9879. 2006 data from answer to 2006 parliamentary question for written answer no.9643. The latter are for day-to-day care, not custody. The 2006 figures for shared care, at 12.7 per cent of orders involving parents and 10.8 per cent of all orders, are much lower than those given by Catherall (2008). She states: "In the Family Court in the year to May 2007, parents were ordered to share child care in 18 per cent of parenting orders". Such a large difference is suspicious. However, if there really has been a major shift in award of care, does this mean that today's fathers are different from those of a few years ago? Alternatively, would past cases be viewed differently if considered now? What does that say about the ongoing consequences of past decisions?