Family issues and custodial mothers' quest for justice: Evidence from Colombia

Abstract

Access to justice is limited for many worldwide. Although prior research generally recognizes the legal needs and barriers faced by women, less is known about mothers. This study examined the legal needs of mothers in different family configurations and the actions they took in response to these needs through the lens of help-seeking theories. We used unique data from the 2016 Colombian Quality of Life Survey (QLS) to produce descriptive statistics on the legal needs of mothers in two-parent families and custodial mothers. We then conducted multivariate analyses to examine the factors associated with having a family issue and seeking institutional help. Custodial mothers were more likely than mothers in two-parent families to have reported any legal need, and to report a family legal issue. The most frequent legal issues related to the family were issues with child support, custody, and/or visitation. The most frequent action taken to resolve issues was through an institutional actor. Among custodial mothers, single, younger mothers and mothers with more children were more likely to experience family legal issues, but they were not the ones seeking institutional help—those mothers were often more socioeconomically advantaged. That more socioeconomically disadvantaged mothers are more likely to experience a family legal issue but less likely to seek institutional help, the most frequent route to action, calls for research that examines the barriers faced by these mothers and policies to improve their access to justice.