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Resolution 2207 (2018)
Gender equality and child maintenance
1. Family patterns are evolving in
Europe, with a decrease in marriages and an increase in separations
and divorces. A growing number of children live in blended families
or with only one parent, with an obligation for the parent who does
not have day-to-day care of the child to contribute financially
to their upbringing. The overwhelming majority of single-parent
families in Europe are headed by a woman. Child maintenance, a particularly
significant element of the life of single-parent families, is therefore
not a gender-neutral matter. The way the amount of the payment is
determined and the consequences of non-compliance affect women disproportionately.
As a consequence, child-maintenance regulations and functioning
should be considered as relevant not only to family life in general
and to the well-being of children, but also specifically to gender equality.
2. The Parliamentary Assembly is concerned that non-compliance
with child-maintenance payment obligations significantly affects
mothers with day-to-day care responsibilities financially, adding
to the inequalities that women face in the world of work, including
the persistent remuneration gap, gender segregation by economic
sector and difficulties in career development. The lack of flexible
working arrangements and comprehensive and affordable childcare
facilities makes it even more difficult to strike a balance between
work and family life. Child-maintenance legislation and policies
and their effective enforcement are one of the many ways of countering
gender inequality.
3. The Assembly reiterates the recommendations set out in Resolution 1921 (2013) on
gender equality, reconciliation of private and working life and
co-responsibility, Resolution
1939 (2013) on parental leave as a way to foster gender
equality and Resolution
2079 (2015) on equality and shared parental responsibility:
the role of fathers.
4. Single-parent families are at particular risk of poverty and
child poverty, which leads to social segregation and discrimination
and jeopardises their human dignity. The Assembly considers that
all single-parent families and their children should have access
to child maintenance, in order to be able to meet their minimum
needs and provide children with equal opportunities in life.
5. Child-maintenance avoidance (intentional non-compliance, irregular
or partial compliance with child-maintenance payments) may be used
to exert psychological pressure on the parents with day-to-day care responsibilities,
which may severely affect children as well. Such behaviour should
be considered a form of psychological violence, and should be treated
as such. Children in particular are traumatised by witnessing domestic
violence of any kind.
6. As a considerable share of marriages and relationships are
binational, child maintenance is also relevant to private international
law, with a need to ensure the effective international recovery
of payments. This is the main aim of the 2007 Hague Convention on
the International Recovery of Child Support and Other Forms of Family
Maintenance, which has been ratified by most, but not all, Council
of Europe member States, and which entered into force on 1 August
2014 in all European Union countries except Denmark.
7. In the light of these considerations, the Assembly calls on
Council of Europe member and observer States and States whose parliaments
enjoy observer status with the Assembly to:
7.1. sign and ratify, if they have not already done so, the
2007 Hague Convention on the International Recovery of Child Support
and Other Forms of Family Maintenance and its Protocol on the Law Applicable
to Maintenance Obligations, and ensure their full implementation;
7.2. as regards non-compliance with child-maintenance payments:
7.2.1. in the best interests of the child, introduce effective
substitute maintenance mechanisms, based on advance payment by the
State in case of non-compliance or partial or irregular compliance
with maintenance payment obligations, whether this lack of compliance
is intentional or not. Advance payment should be made upon request
and be granted within a reasonable time frame with no or minimal
fees for the recipient;
7.2.2. ensure adequate and sustainable funding for substitute
maintenance payment and adequate investment in the relevant structures
for case management, including for the recoupment from the debtor
of the sums advanced by the State;
7.2.3. introduce effective sanctions for child-maintenance avoidance
(intentional non-compliance or partial or irregular compliance with
payments), including criminal sanctions when it amounts to a form
of psychological violence, in line with the provisions of the Council
of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against
Women and Domestic Violence (CETS No. 210, “Istanbul Convention”);
7.2.4. prevent child-maintenance avoidance by working closely
with tax and financial investigative departments;
7.2.5. promote a “culture of paying”, by conducting information
and awareness-raising activities on the harmful consequences of
failed, partial or delayed payments on children and parents with
day-to-day care responsibilities, also with a view to preventing
debt accumulation;
7.2.6. promote mediation between separated parents as a means
of overcoming conflicts over child-maintenance payments;
7.3. as regards female and child poverty:
7.3.1. adopt
and implement gender-focused strategies to tackle female poverty;
7.3.2. introduce benefits specifically targeting single-parent
families, such as reduced rates on services provided to children
and lower tax rates on typical children’s products;
7.4. promote single-parent networking opportunities, for mutual
advice and support;
7.5. strengthen international co-operation in the area of child
maintenance with a view to facilitating the recovery of payments
and exchanging relevant good practices.