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| Down Under |
| Girl successfully divorces mother |
| 2004-11-18 |
| A 17-year-old girl has successfully sought a divorce from her mother in a New South Wales Court. The Toronto Children's Court, south of Newcastle, today granted the girl's application for an "alternative parenting plan". The girl says her mother sold her into prostitution from the age of 10. |
| Posted by:God Save The World |
| #3 In the US they call it "emancipated minor." Many times it's used by kids that make it big in Hollywood so they can control their own money. Macauley Culkin is one example that comes to mind. |
| Posted by: Seafarious 2004-11-18 9:16:55 AM |
| #2 I'm not too sure about the "divorce" terminology. If it was possible to divorce a blood relative, I'm sure that many a prodigal son (and daughter) would be a free agent. "Permanently removed from the biological mother's care and custody with a court-appointed legal guardian" would be a longer but more accurate description, I hope. |
| Posted by: Fred 2004-11-18 9:06:51 AM |
| #1 This is not a first. My wife works in special education and has encountered at least one similar case here (U.S.). There are a lot of single-parent (and probably two-parent) families that go into total breakdown, usually because of drug addiction. There aren't always capable relatives available to step in. Once in a while a neighbor (often a parent of one of the child's close friends) will step in and provide refuge for an older child, but that gets messy when parental signatures or medical care are required. Recommended reading: "A Child Called It" by David Pelzer. This is the first of a series of three books that take David from childhood to adulthood in a home dominated by a dangerously mentally ill mother. Don't read it when you're already feeling down. |
| Posted by: Tom 2004-11-18 8:03:34 AM |