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Examine the Ways in Which Law and Social Policy Affect Family Life

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Examine the ways in which laws and social policies affect family life.
There are many different ways in which laws and social policies affect family life. Laws and social policies affect different cultures. In Russia a new policy was introduced in 1917, the new Communist Government wanted to destroy the patriarchal family structure; the patriarchal family structure was seen as an obstacle to true communism and socialism. The Russian Government changed these laws to make abortion and divorce easier for men and women, equal rights for women was also introduced as well as communal nurseries that were provided by the state. The goal of the changed laws was to break down the traditional family in order to give people more freedom and to reduce the inequalities that were produced between the rich and poor. As a result of this the traditional family did break down, there was a rapid increase in divorce and abortions, as people began to search for the ‘ideal’ freedom and equality. The Government realised that things were beginning to become chaotic so there was a policy change. The government took drastic action by tightening divorce laws and making abortion illegal. The government also said that parents who had more children were awarded allowances. China’s population control policy was introduced under the intention to reduce the population in an over-crowded country but also to save society. China’s workplaces planning communities’ controlled the women employees menstrual cycle and have to ask permission to become pregnant. The Chinese Government has said that couples who comply with the policy will be awarded benefits such as free child-care and tax allowances, but couples who break the one child policy will have to pay a fine or have a forced abortion. Women are encouraged to get sterilised after their first child. Germany’s social policy was produced in a 2 fold

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