HIDDEN PERSPECTIVES IN THE DISCOURSE OF DIVORCE

Gerhard Amendt (amendt@uni-bremen.de)

Abstract

The political discourse about the consequences of divorce is dominated to a large extent by clichés about fathers and mothers. Further research into this area is often not objective being ideologically driven and favouring the concept of ‘the enemy’. Such research cannot contribute to finding a solution to conflicts and is therefore unsuitable for divorcing couples or the development of health-political strategies. We urgently need solution-oriented research about consequences of divorce and its legal framework that is based on a detailed analysis of the underlying relationships.

Keywords: divorce, fathers, mothers, public health policy, legal proceedings

Author Biography

Gerhard Amendt, Ph.D., is an emeritus professor of the University of Bremen (Germany) and founder of the Institute for Gender & Generation Research. He has published numerous books and essays on the dialectic of gender relations and their conflict dynamics. Amendt is critical of any notion of gender with an inherent polarisation and instead proposes a dynamic model for reorientation within the gender arrangement. Amendt has worked in the past as a documentary filmmaker and had been for many years the chairman of the German Pro Familia, first clinic for abortions. Amendt is currently preparing a conference[1] aimed at professional helpers to familiarise them with the paradigm shift from polarisations to a dynamic understanding of violent conflicts in family and partnership.

 

[1]     Handling Conflicts without violence. Effective Means of Prevention at Goethe Universität in Frankfurt, Germany, from 13- 15 April 2018 https://familyconflict.eu/en/

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