Comparing how family policies accommodate post-separation shared custody arrangements: Towards a progressive approach of defamilialization

Shared physical custody (SPC) is a care arrangement following parental separation, whereby children alternatively reside with their mother and father. Still very little is known about how family policies accommodate SPC, which is all the more unfortunate, as SPC represents a key opportunity to understand how family policies can efficiently facilitate shared parenting. This paper thus operationalizes a new comparative family policy approach, based on a progressive vision of defamilialization that considers SPC arrangements, to examine the extent to which Belgian, French and Italian family policies accommodate a more equal sharing of parenting post-divorce. The theoretical section traces back key feminist debates around defamilialization to propose a progressive vision of defamilialization that brings shared parenting at the center stage and considers SPC arrangements as a an “atypical” family configuration that best illustrates contemporary tensions around defamilialization and gender equality. It also takes stock of the few existing studies of family policy and SPC to highlight key issues at stake. The analysis section starts with the main characteristics of the family law, welfare regime and family policies of the three countries. Then, drawing on, and adapting Commaille et al.’s (2002) typology of the main pillars of family policies in the European context, we examine a selection of emblematic and national-level family policies from the following areas: (1) Family benefits; (2) Financial support to access to Services; (3) Tax measures; and (4) parental leave. Our comparison focuses on three main criteria: scope; entitlement; and shareability of benefits between both parents in the context of shared physical custody. Our analysis reveals the variety of approaches to SPC in family polices across countries and policy areas, and highlights that the individualization of rights—characteristic of the Belgian system—stands out as a key tool for supporting shared parenting in SPC arrangements