Children in domestic violence shelters: Does the feminist perspective collapse?

Summary Even though an extensive body of literature on children has swept the field of domestic violence in the last 30 years, little is known about how domestic violence shelter workers understand children’s situations and how they intervene with them. This article seeks to address this gap in the literature, and presents the results of a study conducted with 48 advocates in the province of Québec (Canada). Findings The data suggest that most of the participants adopt a child-centred perspective and consider the children in their own right during their stay. The accounts of the participants’ practices also reveal that they perceive children as being vulnerable and at-risk. With a moderate emphasis on vulnerability and risk, the participants tend to support the children alongside their mothers, while associating potential risks with the behaviour of the perpetrator of domestic violence. However, with a strong focus on vulnerability and risk, participants tend to cast aside the perpetrators’ behaviour and monitor the women-as-mothers during their stay while associating potential risk with their [in]actions under the circumstances. This can lead to mother-blaming, surveillance and more authoritarian interactions. Applications The understanding of children living with domestic violence needs to remain rooted in a feminist analysis of violence against women in order to avoid some of the issues highlighted in the article. Furthermore, studies that seek to shed light on best social work practices when working with children in alliance with their mothers from a feminist perspective are crucially needed.

Coercive control of women as mothers via strategic mother–child separation

This study extends existing research into abusive men’s use of children as part of their strategies to undermine mothering roles: target women as mothers, damage mother–child relationships and cause mother–child separations. It is the first British study into strategic mother–child separation to be conducted with mothers who were actually separated from their children. The purpose of the study was to illuminate the tactics used in this type of coercive control, to assist women and practitioners to address this problem using recent UK coercive control legislation. Qualitative accounts of six women who described having their children turned against them by abusive ex-partners (who were also the children’s fathers) were examined. Thematic analysis identified eight themes as perpetrator tactics of strategic separation: 1) Lying to and manipulating children; 2) Sabotaging children’s contact with their mothers; 3) Weaponising children; 4) Conditioning children through reward and punishment; 5) Exploiting women’s vulnerability, particularly as mothers; 6) Threatening mothers with taking their children from them; 7) Actively employing mother-blaming by exploiting mother-blaming institutions and practices; and 8) Denigrating mothers and elevating themselves in order to supplant mothers as children’s primary caregivers and attachment figures. Because service responses fail to address this aspect of men’s violence against women and children, the article is positioned to inform policy, practice and service provision. Limitations are outlined and areas for further research highlighted.<br /><br />Key messages<br /><ul><li>Abusive men’s strategic interference in the mother–child relationship is achieved through: the direct and indirect use and abuse of children, undermining mothers via mother-blaming; exploiting professionals, and capitalising on patriarchal institutions and mother-blaming theories, systems and practices.</li><br /><li>Recognising this form of abuse as a criminal offence could be addressed using the recent UK coercive control legislation.</li></ul>

Prisoners’ ambivalent sexism and domestic violence: a narrative study

Purpose Gender inequality and sexism are often at the root of domestic violence against women and children, with both serving to justify male domination. This runs in parallel with mother-blaming bias, which constitutes a pervasive common sense and scientific error derived from the myth of the good and the bad mother, characterising a large part of studies on deviance. The purpose of this paper is to consider the possible role of sexism in prisoners’ deviant biographies; for this, the authors considered the role of the mother in the biographies of prisoners, and the results lend support to the idea that mother-blaming is a serious fallacy. Starting from a critical psychology point of view and following the retrospective methodology, the authors interviewed 22 drug-addicted prisoners through Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) regarding their biographies and their relationships with parents and partners. Design/methodology/approach In the survey, the authors followed the same intention, and the results lend support to the idea that mother-blaming is a serious fallacy. The authors interviewed 22 drug-addicted prisoners through IPA concerning their biographies and their relationships with parents and partners. Findings The main result of this qualitative study was the recognition of a fundamental sexism assumed by participants, characterised by a paradox between the representation of the mother and the representation of the ideal woman. Despite the mother being their positive affective referent, and battered by her husband/partner, the same participants had been witnesses of domestic violence, and sometimes victims, they interiorised from their father an ambivalent sexism: benevolent sexism with regard to their mother and exhibited hostile sexism with their partner. On the one hand, it emerged that female empowerment was desirable with respect to the mothers. On the other hand, the ideal woman was exactly as their mother was, that is, being absolutely subordinated to men (a patient, caring, submissive housewife, totally dedicated to her children and her husband). Research limitations/implications From a mainstream psychological perspective, the limits of the research are linked to the utilisation of the narrative method. Also, this methodology does not verify any hypotheses, so quotations from the participants are used to illustrate themes, and thus, it is difficult to report the informational complexities arising from the dialogues. However, the literature has emphasised that these limitations do not invalidate qualitative research findings, despite the difficulties in generalising the results of the qualitative studies. Thereafter, the critical analysis moved within the intersection of experience-centred approaches and the culturally oriented treatment of narratives, so that the focus on the stories of the prisoners makes meaning because it applies structure to experience, albeit, with the form and content of the texts. This research did not permit us to measure and evaluate post-hoc any post-traumatic hypotheses, which, in turn, would give room for further research. Another limitation of the research was that the relationship between culture of origin and gender biases, especially with participants from non-European countries, was not analysed. This topic would require an important in-depth study, which encompasses how women are treated in different countries and its effects on social maladjustment for immigrants in Italy. Practical implications The outcome of this study suggests that within similar structures in the Institute of Mitigated Custody, the theme of sexism should be considered in more depth. Since sexism justifies violence against women, and is therefore a factor that can cause recidivism in the antisocial behaviour of prisoners once they have served their sentences. It is important to allow them to analyse the relationship between their sexist attitudes, witnessing violence in childhood and the possibility of changing moral values of reference in favour of equality. This type of psychological intervention must necessarily be based not only on the elaboration of traumas suffered during childhood with an abusive father, but also on issues related to gender equality and the theme of social inclusion. Social implications The study suggests the idea that male sexism can be a factor responsible for suffering and maladjustment for men and that therefore an education that promotes equality of gender differences can also help prevent the social distress associated with drug addiction and deviance. Originality/value The paper considers some cogent issues inherent to ambivalent sexism that pervades prisoners’ aspirations for their future.

Qualitatively Understanding Mother Fault After Childhood Sexual Abuse

Socially constructed images of motherhood suggest that a “good” mother is caring, nurturing, and selfless—the perfect maternal figure. When these standards are not met, mother blaming (i.e., assigning fault to mothers) occurs even in child sexual abuse (CSA) cases. We collected 312 open-ended responses in total from 108 community-based participants to understand contextual factors that increase and decrease in mother fault in a CSA-related vignette depicting the mother’s partner as the perpetrator. Thematic analysis revealed five main themes. Three themes were associated with decreased blame: Lack of Overt Knowledge (i.e., the mother had no direct knowledge of the CSA and thus cannot be blamed), Physical Act (i.e., the mother was not the actual perpetrator; only the perpetrator is responsible for the CSA), and Trust (i.e., the mother should be able to trust her partner). Two themes were associated with increased blame: Covert Knowledge (i.e., the mother was expected to have covert, intuitive knowledge of the CSA) and Mistrust (i.e., the mother should have known better than to trust her partner). Faulting mothers for the CSA of their child may reduce reporting of, and help seeking for, CSA, due to fear of being blamed.

Elternschaft in der Weltrisikogesellschaft

Das Konzept »Verantwortete Elternschaft« entwickelte sich mit dem Aufstieg des Prinzips Verantwortung im 20. Jahrhundert. Aufgrund seiner verdeckten Paradoxien löst es die heutigen Probleme rund um Sozialisation und Familie jedoch nicht, sondern verschärft sie, wie die Kriterien eines zeitgemäßen Verantwortungsbegriffs zeigen. Der unreflektierte Anspruch unbegrenzter Elternverantwortung offenbart die zunehmende Ratlosigkeit in einer komplexen Weltrisikogesellschaft und eine Verantwortungsverlagerung, die in einer moralisierenden (Selbst-)Beschuldigung von Eltern bzw. insbesondere von Müttern mündet (Parent Blaming, Mother Blaming). Die schleichende Zuweisung immer neuer Aufgaben einer komplexen Moderne belastet Eltern individuell nicht selten weit über die Grenzen ihrer Leistungsfähigkeit hinaus. Indem Kriterien der Elternverantwortung reflektiert und offengelegt werden, kann das Konzept wieder brauchbar werden.