Reddit reviews Women and Shari'a Law: The Impact of Legal Pluralism in the UK

Yes, I see this too. In English law at least, the 'golden thread' of family law is that the child's best interests come first. Yet they assume that it is always a starting point that the child's best interest is to have ongoing contact with their biological father and seek to facilitate this, even if the father is abusive, without sufficient regard to the family unit as a whole and to the mother's trauma.

In terms of the religious courts specifically, it is really insiduous because what proponents will tell you is that the decisions they make are not legally binding. Technically speaking, you can always go to the secular/normal court and get your divorce or your custody heard, right. Except that this is NOT how the lawyers in those courts or the community officers describe it to the women. These women have marriage contracts and orders which are signed and which they think are legally enforceable; and even if they know they're not in the secular courts, you think they always have the power to tell their husbands and families that they want this tried in the secular system? I have the most experience with Shariah courts, coming from a Muslim background myself, and we know from the research done on these that a lot of these women are told to stay in abusive marriages and told not to report it to the police, they are told to dress better and be nicer when their husbands abuse them, their rape is overlooked, and there were reports a while ago that they were being locked 'into marital captivity' due to the way divorce law is structured in Islam. See, for example: here and here. I don't have as much experience with Jewish courts in the UK personally, but I have heard similar accounts and reports.

I note you've said 'England and Wales is particularly poor on child protection compared to other European countries.' Would you be able to expand on this or provide any sources? The comparative angle is something I am really interested in.

I would eventually love to go into this sort of legal academia which compares various legal frameworks globally for the best outcomes for women, not just in family law but also in other areas such as prostitution. Might be a way to use my training to do something I actually care about.

> Je connais bien la situation au Canada vu que j'y vis

Ah ben c'est sûr alors, tu as raison du coup. C'est étrange, pas mal de canadiens ne sont pas d'accord avec toi.

>Et y'a pas eu de politique de multiculturalisme en Europe que je sache

Tu ne sais pas, donc.

>y'a absolument pas les mêmes problèmes qu'en Europe ici, sans doute car les immigrés sont bien accueillis et qu'on leur fout la paix

Y'a pas la même proportion de musulmans, et ils sont surtout d'une immigration choisie. C'est marrant, au RU, ils "leur" ont aussi foutu la paix, et c'est sans doute le pays d'Europe avec l'islam e plus radical.

Ce n'est pas parce que tu le vois pas que ça n'existe pas.

Je te conseille le premier chapitre de ce livre sur les politiques menées au RU, qui sont aussi menées au Canada.