Dr Emma Katz argues that Netflix’s ‘The Crown’ glamorises the controlling behaviours used in domestic abuse.
Coercive control is a harmful criminal offence, yet it hides in plain sight. Sitting front and centre within our culture, it is performed routinely before our eyes. Coercive and controlling behaviours are glamorised in plotlines where abusers are sexy and romantic bad boys, and women enjoy being dominated and suppressed. It is vital that we challenge these representations, in order to tackle coercive control effectively.
The UK has recently taken the bold step of making coercive or controlling behaviour within intimate relationships a criminal offence. This is a breakthrough in our efforts to tackle domestic violence and abuse.
Perpetrators can now be prosecuted for controlling their partner’s activities, damaging their partner’s confidence and self-esteem, and isolating them from family and friends.
But prosecutions and convictions have so far been disappointingly low, and the majority of police officers have not received training on how to identify coercive and controlling behaviours.
This lack of action is partly fuelled by the representation of these behaviours in mainstream Western media.
A prime example can be found in the critically-acclaimed Netflix series The Crown, and its depiction of the relationship between the Queen’s sister Princess Margaret (Vanessa Kirby) and Antony Armstrong-Jones, later Lord Snowdon (Matthew Goode), in season 2, episode 4, ‘Beryl’.
As a researcher of domestic abuse who focuses on coercive control[i], I watched this episode with horror, seeing how Antony Armstrong-Jones’ controlling behaviour is portrayed as pulse-racingly hot.
Antony (a professional photographer) first meets Margaret at a party and offers to photograph her in his studio on the condition that she does everything he says for the duration of the session. He tells her she is ‘dying to be a supplicant’ – someone who behaves humbly towards a powerful figure.
This introduces a clear controlling dynamic – Antony will have the power in their interaction, and Margaret will submit her will to his. Margaret cannot complain, Antony asserts, because this is something she secretly desires. This is a classic example of how perpetrators of domestic abuse manipulate victims into thinking that they are to blame for their own abuse, creating a feeling of shame that often prevents victims from seeking help.
At his studio a few days later, Antony begins their session by ordering Margaret to wait downstairs. He then goes upstairs and calmly topples chairs and bangs on tables to make as much noise as possible. Margaret sits downstairs listening to the noises, unsure of what is happening. Having established his dominance and potential to use violence, Antony returns downstairs, offering no explanation of his actions. The message is clear – he can behave in a bizarre and violent way at any time and Margaret is not to challenge him.
Many more ‘red flags’ of abuse appear as Antony begins taking Margaret’s photos. Antony tells her she has ‘no idea who she is, not the faintest idea’. This comment attacks and destabilises Margaret’s self-confidence[ii]. He suggests that Margaret’s family doesn’t treat her well – laying the foundations for isolating her from them and setting himself up as ‘the only one who really loves you’.
At one point, without warning or consent, Antony pulls down the straps of Margaret’s top to expose her bare shoulders – beginning to establish the sexual coerciveness and sexually assaultive behaviour that is common in abusive relationships.
At the end of the session Antony becomes light-hearted and cheerful, as though his behaviour had never happened. Such abrupt changes of mood[iii] are commonly used by domestic abuse perpetrators to confuse and Gaslight victims by invalidating their experiences of reality. Victims are left thinking: ‘If he’s acting like everything’s alright now, then what just happened to me can’t have been that bad. I must have overreacted. I must be too sensitive’.
How is Margaret depicted as reacting to all this? Does she run a mile? Is she outraged? Is she afraid? No – she goes home to her bedroom in a state of utter joy. She plays the song ‘I only have eyes for you’, which begins with the lyrics: ‘My love must be a kind of blind love. I can't see anyone but you.’ She smiles, dances, and is thrilled to have met such an exciting man. Viewers are encouraged to share her excitement.
What about the media reaction? Did they notice that this episode shows almost every red flag for an abusive relationship? No – much of media commentary described it positively. The photography scene is ‘when they fell in love’, Antony is ‘dashing’, ‘handsome’, ‘hip’, and ‘someone to get excited about’, the storyline is a ‘magnetic flirtation’ and a ‘red-hot romance’.
Given this glamorisation, it is unsurprising that the police may struggle with the idea that coercive and controlling behaviour is part of an offence they should be tackling. How can it be wrong, a police officer may wonder, if it is depicted as so thrilling, and as something that women are enjoying so much?
The grim reality is that such behaviour is rarely enjoyable. Most women whose partners are coercive and controlling experience a nightmare of abuse and manipulation from which they may need considerable support to escape (and the same is true for male victims of coercive control).
If this episode of The Crown is anything to go by, it may be a long time before controlling and coercive behaviours are seen not as the actions of sexy ‘bad boys’, but as the repugnant acts of domestic abuse that they are.
Dr Emma Katz is a Lecturer in Childhood and Youth at Liverpool Hope University and a member of the Gender Based Violence Research Network. Emma researches the impacts of domestic violence and abuse on children and mother-child relationships. Her work explores coercive control, agency, resistance, recovery and mother-child mutual supportiveness in domestic abuse contexts.
References
[i] Katz, E. (2016) Beyond the Physical Incident Model: How Children Living with Domestic Violence are Harmed By and Resist Regimes of Coercive Control. Child Abuse Rev., 25: 46–59. doi: 10.1002/car.2422
[ii] Matheson, F et al (2015) Where Did She Go? The Transformation of Self-Esteem, Self-Identity, and Mental Well-Being among Women Who Have Experienced Intimate Partner Violence. Women’s Health Issues 25: 561-569 doi: 10.1016/j.whi.2015.04.006
[iii] Enander, V. (2011) Leaving Jekyll and Hyde: Emotion work in the context of intimate partner violence. Feminism & Psychology 21(1) 29–48 doi: 0.1177/0959353510384831
Showing posts with label domestic abuse. Show all posts
Showing posts with label domestic abuse. Show all posts
Tuesday, 30 January 2018
Monday, 20 February 2017
Maybe He’s Caring: Responding to disabled women who experience domestic abuse
In this post Dr Jenna Breckenridge (Research Fellow, University of Edinburgh) explores the unique domestic abuse experiences of disabled women and discusses opportunities and challenges for improving the response to this important issue.
This is a significant problem in which gender discrimination and the widespread oppression of disabled people, known as disablism, collide. Disablist attitudes portray disabled people as weak and dependent, meaning that perpetrators may perceive disabled women to be easier to control and overpower. Society often portrays disabled women as asexual, undesirable and undeserving of intimate relationships and, as a result, they are often disbelieved when they disclose domestic abuse. This is especially the case when the perpetrator of abuse is also the woman’s main carer.
Yet, despite experiencing more severe, more prolonged and more frequent abuse, disabled women are less likely to receive sufficient domestic abuse support from agencies across health, social care and the third sector.
1. European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (2014) Violence against women: an EU-wide survey. Accessed at http://fra.europa.eu/en/publication/2014/violence-against-women-eu-wide-survey-main-results-report
2. Martin SL, Ray N, Sotres-Alvarez D, Kupper LL, Moracco KE, Dickens PA et al. (2006) Physical and sexual assault of women with disabilities. Violence Against Women, 12: 823-838.
3. Young ME, Nosek MA, Howland C, Chanpong G, Rintala DH (1997) Prevalence of abuse of women with physical disabilities. Archive of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 78: S34-S38.
- Disabled women are two times more likely to experience domestic abuse than non-disabled women.
- A large study of domestic abuse prevalence across Europe (including 28 different countries) found that 50% of disabled women have experienced domestic abuse in their lifetime1.
- Disabled women are four times more likely to experience sexual abuse2.
- On average, disabled women experience abuse for up to 2 years longer than non-disabled women3.
This is a significant problem in which gender discrimination and the widespread oppression of disabled people, known as disablism, collide. Disablist attitudes portray disabled people as weak and dependent, meaning that perpetrators may perceive disabled women to be easier to control and overpower. Society often portrays disabled women as asexual, undesirable and undeserving of intimate relationships and, as a result, they are often disbelieved when they disclose domestic abuse. This is especially the case when the perpetrator of abuse is also the woman’s main carer.
A unique form of abuse
Although disabled women experience all forms of domestic abuse – sexual, psychological, physical and financial - they also experience a unique form of abuse that specifically targets their impairments. Women say this abuse makes them more disabled than they need to be. For example, women have described how their perpetrators remove batteries from power wheelchairs, refuse personal care, sabotage communication devices, deliberately cause injury to assistance animals or purposefully mismanage women’s medications.Yet, despite experiencing more severe, more prolonged and more frequent abuse, disabled women are less likely to receive sufficient domestic abuse support from agencies across health, social care and the third sector.
How do we make support more accessible?
This might involve providing more accessible forms of communication, particularly for women with learning disabilities or sensory impairments, to ensure that women understand what help is available to them. Refuges need to consider how women’s basic care needs can be met – for example, assistance with mobility, activities of daily living, transportation - especially when her abusive partner has also been her main carer. Ultimately, however, different women, with different impairments, will have different support needs and it is important that domestic abuse services have a better understanding of the unique barriers facing disabled women and develop strategies for overcoming these. The crucial first step in achieving this is to listen to disabled women and work collaboratively with them to design domestic abuse support that is inclusive and accessible to all.
References
1. European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (2014) Violence against women: an EU-wide survey. Accessed at http://fra.europa.eu/en/publication/2014/violence-against-women-eu-wide-survey-main-results-report2. Martin SL, Ray N, Sotres-Alvarez D, Kupper LL, Moracco KE, Dickens PA et al. (2006) Physical and sexual assault of women with disabilities. Violence Against Women, 12: 823-838.
3. Young ME, Nosek MA, Howland C, Chanpong G, Rintala DH (1997) Prevalence of abuse of women with physical disabilities. Archive of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 78: S34-S38.
Wednesday, 14 October 2015
All over now? Children's contact when there is domestic abuse
CRFR Research Fellow Fiona Morrison reflects on
the findings of her recently published work examining children and mothers'
perspectives of contact with fathers following parental separation in the
context of domestic abuse.
People used to think domestic abuse was something that only
affected adults. However a body of research[i]
has shown that simply isn’t the case. Children overhear, witness, intervene and
deal with the consequences of domestic abuse. A child may call the police
following an assault. They may physically intervene to stop an attack. They may
become homeless because of domestic abuse.
Through research, children have provided their own unique accounts of
domestic abuse that have expanded our understanding of how domestic abuse
affects children.
People often think that domestic abuse stops when couples
separate. Unfortunately that’s not always the case either. Domestic abuse may
continue following separation. Research[ii]
has in fact found the presence of children to be a ‘risk factor’ for continued
abuse following separation.
This raises difficult questions about post-separation
contact between children and their fathers when there is domestic abuse. Post-separation
relationships between children and parents are important. But what about the
risks that contact may pose?
My PhD examined children and mothers’ perspectives of contact
with fathers following parental separation in the context of domestic abuse. I
interviewed children and their mothers about their experience of separation,
making decisions about contact and children having or not having contact with
their fathers. I have recently published some of the findings from my research.
These confirm findings from other research – the ending of a relationship does
not necessarily translate into the ending of abuse and contact often becomes a
focus for the continued abuse of children and mothers.
My findings also elaborate
on how parental relations continue to influence children’s contact with their
fathers. Far from being ‘all over now’,
I found the relational consequences of domestic abuse to continue following
separation through children’s contact. An absence of direct communication
between parents created a vacuum that children often had to fill. This in turn
rendered children exposed and vulnerable to continued abuse and parental conflict. This was evident through fathers’ hostility
towards mothers during contact, problems connected to parents’ re-partnering
and conflict about legal proceedings and finances, all of which played out
through children’s contact.
This raises further
questions about how contact when there is domestic abuse should be considered.
How can contact be safe? How can children be supported in this context? How do
we ensure mothers are not undermined as a consequence of contact? How can
fathers be supported in their relationships with their children while also
accountable for their behaviour?
Contact is an important
issue following separation and my research shows that in the context of
domestic abuse we must be mindful of the risks that contact may pose as well as
how parental relations affect the contact that children have.
You can read more about my
research and other articles on Domestic Abuse and Safeguarding Children in a
Special Issue of ChildAbuse Review.
If you have any concerns
about domestic abuse or child contact you can get help from the following
places:
ClanChildLaw provide free legal advice
and representation to children across Scotland.
Childline provide
confidential support to children.
ScottishWomen’s Aid provide information and support to women and children affected
by domestic abuse across Scotland.
[i]
Stanley N. 2011. Children
Experiencing Domestic Violence: A Research Review.
Research in Practice: Dartington.
[ii]
Brownridge DA. 2006. Violence against women post-separation. Aggression and Violent Behavior 11(5): 514–530.
==============================================================
Do you want to develop your skills in research and consultation with children and young people? Take a look at our Continuing Professional Development courses, delivered by Dr Susan Elsley and Professor Kay Tisdall:
10-11th March 2016: Involving children and young people in research and consultation
28-29th April 2016: Using creative methods in research with children and young people
==============================================================
Do you want to develop your skills in research and consultation with children and young people? Take a look at our Continuing Professional Development courses, delivered by Dr Susan Elsley and Professor Kay Tisdall:
10-11th March 2016: Involving children and young people in research and consultation
28-29th April 2016: Using creative methods in research with children and young people
Thursday, 31 July 2014
Can babies be homeless?
Wendy Bunston from La Troube University in Australia kindly presented a seminar based on her PhD research during a recent visit to CRFR. Using infant observation and interviews with mothers and staff, Wendy is exploring what happens to the baby when they first enter refuge after fleeing family violence.
If it’s hard for us to think of how violent it must be for a woman to flee her home, how much harder is it to think about what a baby goes through? Perhaps that’s why we don’t. Most would prefer not to know that babies feel terror, fear, sadness and despair. Very few people would stop to consider what happens to, or for, babies who go into refuge (Bunston, 2011). My work in this area has led me to explore what happens to the infant made homeless by family violence and accompanying their mothers into refuge (Domestic Violence Resource Centre Victoria, 2012; Glennen, 2011). The reason women typically go into crisis accommodation services is to escape family violence. A large proportion of these women are mothers, most often with children under five. Infants are rapidly developing, and what happens in these early years can have an impact for life. Early, repeated trauma caused by family violence, can lead to future mental health, language, learning, behavioural and relationship difficulties. Getting in early, can absolutely make a difference to infants who, either in utero, or after birth, have been exposed to violence (Bunston, 2006; Bunston, 2013). My PhD research is interested in what happens to the baby who with their mother comes in refuge. Are babies thought about as their own person, who have their own feeling states and reactions? What do infants make of these new sights, smells, noises and people? Do they miss their fathers, do they miss what they knew of as home? Do they feel that something is different for their mother and does that difference feel good, sad, or maybe confusing? So far, I’ve met babies in refuges across three countries, and I hope to find out.
Bunston W (2006) The Peek a Boo Club: group work for infants and mothers affected by family violence. The Signal: newsletter of the World Association for Infant Mental Health 14(1):1-7.
Bunston, W (2011) Let's Start at the Very Beginning: The Sound of Infants, Mental Health, Homelessness and You [online]. Parity 24(2):37-39.
Bunston W (2013) What about the fathers? Bringing ‘Dads on Board™’ with their infants and toddlers following violence. Journal of Family Studies 19(1):70-79. doi: 10.5172/jfs.2013.19.1.70.
Domestic Violence Resource Centre Victoria (2012) Resources for workers supporting children. Website. http://dvrcv.org.au/help-advice/service-providers/practitioners-working-children.
Glennen K (2011) The Homeless Infant [online]. Parity 24(2): 35-36.
If it’s hard for us to think of how violent it must be for a woman to flee her home, how much harder is it to think about what a baby goes through? Perhaps that’s why we don’t. Most would prefer not to know that babies feel terror, fear, sadness and despair. Very few people would stop to consider what happens to, or for, babies who go into refuge (Bunston, 2011). My work in this area has led me to explore what happens to the infant made homeless by family violence and accompanying their mothers into refuge (Domestic Violence Resource Centre Victoria, 2012; Glennen, 2011). The reason women typically go into crisis accommodation services is to escape family violence. A large proportion of these women are mothers, most often with children under five. Infants are rapidly developing, and what happens in these early years can have an impact for life. Early, repeated trauma caused by family violence, can lead to future mental health, language, learning, behavioural and relationship difficulties. Getting in early, can absolutely make a difference to infants who, either in utero, or after birth, have been exposed to violence (Bunston, 2006; Bunston, 2013). My PhD research is interested in what happens to the baby who with their mother comes in refuge. Are babies thought about as their own person, who have their own feeling states and reactions? What do infants make of these new sights, smells, noises and people? Do they miss their fathers, do they miss what they knew of as home? Do they feel that something is different for their mother and does that difference feel good, sad, or maybe confusing? So far, I’ve met babies in refuges across three countries, and I hope to find out.
Bunston W (2006) The Peek a Boo Club: group work for infants and mothers affected by family violence. The Signal: newsletter of the World Association for Infant Mental Health 14(1):1-7.
Bunston, W (2011) Let's Start at the Very Beginning: The Sound of Infants, Mental Health, Homelessness and You [online]. Parity 24(2):37-39.
Bunston W (2013) What about the fathers? Bringing ‘Dads on Board™’ with their infants and toddlers following violence. Journal of Family Studies 19(1):70-79. doi: 10.5172/jfs.2013.19.1.70.
Domestic Violence Resource Centre Victoria (2012) Resources for workers supporting children. Website. http://dvrcv.org.au/help-advice/service-providers/practitioners-working-children.
Glennen K (2011) The Homeless Infant [online]. Parity 24(2): 35-36.
Wednesday, 30 July 2014
Keeping Mothers in Mind: Trauma informed approaches to supporting mothers who have experienced violence and their young children
Angelique Jenney, Director of Family Violence Services at the Child Development Institute in Toronto, Canada is visiting CRFR in August as part of our ongoing collaborative work on gender-based violence. Angelique has kindly agreed to give an informal seminar while she is here. In this blog Angelique introduces us to her work on the impact of domestic violence on mothers and young children and provides an insight to what she will be covering in her seminar.
Identifying and responding to the mental health needs of young children who are exposed to domestic violence/maternal trauma is one of the most pressing issues confronting child welfare, child mental health, and social service sectors today. It is a common misconception that infants and young children are not affected by these experiences and their environment because they lack the ability to communicate distress or understanding with language. Yet, young children are disproportionately exposed to violence against their mothers simply because of their dependence and proximity to their mothers in these early years.
The evidence tells us that children living with domestic violence are at increased risk of experiencing emotional, physical and sexual abuse, of developing emotional and behavioural problems, and of increased exposure to other adversities. In particular concerns about emotional regulation, exposure to developmentally damaging toxic stress and the experience of witnessing harm to their caregiver are particularly high for such young children. A more detailed examination of these risks can be read here in The impact of domestic violence on infants and young people (IMHP 2012).
The evidence also tells us that, the most protective factor is the availability of a safe and responsive caregiver. Women’s experiences of domestic violence, often combined with a personal trauma history such as childhood physical or sexual abuse, impact all facets of women’s lives including their ability to parent. Being able to respond to mothers who are parenting children in the midst of violence is a particularly important area, given how violence affects children’s emotional health and well-being, the mother-child relationship, and future attachment relationships for children. But how are professionals to assess this impact and to find ways to work empathically and cooperatively with both mother and child to intervene in the best way possible?
Based on these concerns, Child Development Institute (www.childdevelop.ca), a multi-service organization in Toronto providing early intervention services for children under the age of 12 and their families, has developed The Mothers in Mind (MIM) program: a 12-week intervention program designed to meet the service needs of women with a domestic violence/trauma history who are parenting children under the age of 4. Group work has been shown to decrease isolation and reduce secrecy and shame that often accompanies experiences of abuse; however, in order to make positive shifts in the mother-child relationship impacted by trauma, specific support and attention must be given to the relationship.
Mothers in Mind™ is an innovative, relationship-based therapeutic mother-child program designed specifically to meet the parenting needs of mothers who have experienced violence and trauma and have very young children. The focus of the program is to intervene early in the lives of young children and their mothers in order to strengthen parent-child relationships, enhance parenting skills and reduce parenting stress. More information and tips for parents and practitioners can be found on the Mothers in Mind™ website.
This seminar will illustrate the importance of understanding the effects of domestic violence exposure on young children (under 4 years), consider risk factors and outline signs and symptoms for assessment of impact and implications for interventions in practice. The unique parenting issues facing mothers who have experienced violence and trauma will also be addressed, highlighting the need for specific trauma-informed parenting support.
Angelique Jenney, PhD
Director of Family Violence Services, Child Development Institute
Assistant Professor (Status Only), Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, University of Toronto
Book now:
Angelique's seminar, Keeping Mothers in Mind will be held on Thursday 28 August 2014, 12.30pm-1.30pm at CRFR in Edinburgh. The seminar is free but places are limited so please email Brenda.saetta@ed.ac.uk or call 0131 651 1832 to book your place.
Identifying and responding to the mental health needs of young children who are exposed to domestic violence/maternal trauma is one of the most pressing issues confronting child welfare, child mental health, and social service sectors today. It is a common misconception that infants and young children are not affected by these experiences and their environment because they lack the ability to communicate distress or understanding with language. Yet, young children are disproportionately exposed to violence against their mothers simply because of their dependence and proximity to their mothers in these early years.
The evidence tells us that children living with domestic violence are at increased risk of experiencing emotional, physical and sexual abuse, of developing emotional and behavioural problems, and of increased exposure to other adversities. In particular concerns about emotional regulation, exposure to developmentally damaging toxic stress and the experience of witnessing harm to their caregiver are particularly high for such young children. A more detailed examination of these risks can be read here in The impact of domestic violence on infants and young people (IMHP 2012).
The evidence also tells us that, the most protective factor is the availability of a safe and responsive caregiver. Women’s experiences of domestic violence, often combined with a personal trauma history such as childhood physical or sexual abuse, impact all facets of women’s lives including their ability to parent. Being able to respond to mothers who are parenting children in the midst of violence is a particularly important area, given how violence affects children’s emotional health and well-being, the mother-child relationship, and future attachment relationships for children. But how are professionals to assess this impact and to find ways to work empathically and cooperatively with both mother and child to intervene in the best way possible?
Based on these concerns, Child Development Institute (www.childdevelop.ca), a multi-service organization in Toronto providing early intervention services for children under the age of 12 and their families, has developed The Mothers in Mind (MIM) program: a 12-week intervention program designed to meet the service needs of women with a domestic violence/trauma history who are parenting children under the age of 4. Group work has been shown to decrease isolation and reduce secrecy and shame that often accompanies experiences of abuse; however, in order to make positive shifts in the mother-child relationship impacted by trauma, specific support and attention must be given to the relationship.
Mothers in Mind™ is an innovative, relationship-based therapeutic mother-child program designed specifically to meet the parenting needs of mothers who have experienced violence and trauma and have very young children. The focus of the program is to intervene early in the lives of young children and their mothers in order to strengthen parent-child relationships, enhance parenting skills and reduce parenting stress. More information and tips for parents and practitioners can be found on the Mothers in Mind™ website.
This seminar will illustrate the importance of understanding the effects of domestic violence exposure on young children (under 4 years), consider risk factors and outline signs and symptoms for assessment of impact and implications for interventions in practice. The unique parenting issues facing mothers who have experienced violence and trauma will also be addressed, highlighting the need for specific trauma-informed parenting support.
Angelique Jenney, PhD
Director of Family Violence Services, Child Development Institute
Assistant Professor (Status Only), Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, University of Toronto
Book now:
Angelique's seminar, Keeping Mothers in Mind will be held on Thursday 28 August 2014, 12.30pm-1.30pm at CRFR in Edinburgh. The seminar is free but places are limited so please email Brenda.saetta@ed.ac.uk or call 0131 651 1832 to book your place.
Tuesday, 20 August 2013
The impact of domestic abuse on women’s relationships with their babies
Dr Fiona Buchanan writes about her research on women’s perspectives on how domestic violence affected their relationship with their babies
At a seminar organised by the CRFR at the end of June I was delighted that the audience of committed and active workers from agencies all over Scotland and beyond found my research thought provoking and - hopefully - useful.
I was grateful for the opportunity to get research from Australia out to inform practice in Scotland, and so I’m also using the CRFR blog to take the discussion further. This is what I presented.
Feminists have long argued that services for women and children who have survived domestic abuse need to be informed by the every-day experiences of women and children.
However, in the growing field of early intervention it is attachment theory, based in expert opinion informed by clinical testing, observation and classification, that is guiding many workers. With this approach women and their babies are the focus for identifying and treating problems.
But, in basing practice in theory formed from expert opinion, women’s voices about how they think domestic abuse affects the relationships with their babies are overlooked. Instead the focus is on fixing problems.
Having worked in South Australia rolling out new early intervention services based on attachment theory I was concerned that we were missing what was really going on for women and their babies in domestic abuse.
That’s why I undertook research to find out: "How knowledge of relationships between women and their babies can be informed by focusing on the lived experiences, including the emotional experiences, of women who have birthed and mothered babies in domestic abuse".
Sixteen incredibly honest, open and insightful women who had mothered babies in domestic abuse took part in the research. They spoke of how, in domestic abuse, their partners focused ongoing hostility towards the developing mother/baby relationship. The women gave many examples of how they responded to this by thinking, feeling and, where possible, acting to protect their babies. They did this whether or not they felt attached to their babies. It seemed that protection came first and took priority over attachment.
Enduring sustained hostility, protecting babies and finding space to relate
Women protected in many ways we don’t recognise as protection, for instance trying to make sure the baby was always quiet, the house was always spotless and their partners’ lifestyle was not disrupted in any way.
They did all this to appease their partners so that they would not find fault and create a scene. But as one woman put it: “there is no routine in that crazy life-style; you never know when the next eruption is going to happen”.
Women also described some heart wrenching situations where they put themselves in danger to make sure their babies were not physically hurt. Most of the women never told friends and family these details because of the distress it would cause. Counsellors had not enquired about the impact of abuse on the relationship with their baby or their efforts to protect their baby.
The women did their best to protect their babies but found that the time it took to try to‘keep the peace’ meant they had little time to get to know their babies. As one woman said:
“ … I didn’t get to spend the time that I wanted to with Chris (the baby), cuddling him and didn’t get to sit down and read books to him when he was really little, and, you know, do all those little things you want to, spend the time playing on the floor, and that, was always having to do other things to prevent problems...”
However, women were creative about finding at least some space to relate to their baby. They did this during breastfeeding, by co-sleeping and one woman spent time with her baby at childcare.
What should we do?
There is a lot to learn from these women’s stories and three things that workers could take on board:
• Ask about and listen to women’s experience of sustained hostility directed towards the mother/baby relationship
• Ask about, acknowledge and respect women’s protective feelings, thoughts and actions towards their babies.
• Applaud women’s efforts to find a safe space where they could relate to their babies and when women have no safe space, help them to access some.
Of course, when living with domestic abuse women are not always able to protect their babies, especially when they cannot protect themselves, but let’s stop seeing them as the problem. By learning from women who have formed relationships with babies in domestic abuse, workers can act with understanding of context to promote women’s protection of their babies.
For more information about my research
View Fiona’s presentation that accompanied her talk in Edinburgh.
“Domestic Violence and the Place of Fear in Mother/Baby Relationships: “What Was I Afraid Of ? Of Making It Worse?” Journal of Interpersonal Violence June 2013 vol. 28 no. 9 1817-1838
Fiona Buchanan, School of Psychology, Social Work and Social Policy, University of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia
Read other CRFR blogs on gender-based violence
At a seminar organised by the CRFR at the end of June I was delighted that the audience of committed and active workers from agencies all over Scotland and beyond found my research thought provoking and - hopefully - useful.
I was grateful for the opportunity to get research from Australia out to inform practice in Scotland, and so I’m also using the CRFR blog to take the discussion further. This is what I presented.
Feminists have long argued that services for women and children who have survived domestic abuse need to be informed by the every-day experiences of women and children.
However, in the growing field of early intervention it is attachment theory, based in expert opinion informed by clinical testing, observation and classification, that is guiding many workers. With this approach women and their babies are the focus for identifying and treating problems.
But, in basing practice in theory formed from expert opinion, women’s voices about how they think domestic abuse affects the relationships with their babies are overlooked. Instead the focus is on fixing problems.
Having worked in South Australia rolling out new early intervention services based on attachment theory I was concerned that we were missing what was really going on for women and their babies in domestic abuse.
That’s why I undertook research to find out: "How knowledge of relationships between women and their babies can be informed by focusing on the lived experiences, including the emotional experiences, of women who have birthed and mothered babies in domestic abuse".
Sixteen incredibly honest, open and insightful women who had mothered babies in domestic abuse took part in the research. They spoke of how, in domestic abuse, their partners focused ongoing hostility towards the developing mother/baby relationship. The women gave many examples of how they responded to this by thinking, feeling and, where possible, acting to protect their babies. They did this whether or not they felt attached to their babies. It seemed that protection came first and took priority over attachment.
Enduring sustained hostility, protecting babies and finding space to relate
Women protected in many ways we don’t recognise as protection, for instance trying to make sure the baby was always quiet, the house was always spotless and their partners’ lifestyle was not disrupted in any way.
They did all this to appease their partners so that they would not find fault and create a scene. But as one woman put it: “there is no routine in that crazy life-style; you never know when the next eruption is going to happen”.
Women also described some heart wrenching situations where they put themselves in danger to make sure their babies were not physically hurt. Most of the women never told friends and family these details because of the distress it would cause. Counsellors had not enquired about the impact of abuse on the relationship with their baby or their efforts to protect their baby.
The women did their best to protect their babies but found that the time it took to try to‘keep the peace’ meant they had little time to get to know their babies. As one woman said:
“ … I didn’t get to spend the time that I wanted to with Chris (the baby), cuddling him and didn’t get to sit down and read books to him when he was really little, and, you know, do all those little things you want to, spend the time playing on the floor, and that, was always having to do other things to prevent problems...”
However, women were creative about finding at least some space to relate to their baby. They did this during breastfeeding, by co-sleeping and one woman spent time with her baby at childcare.
What should we do?
There is a lot to learn from these women’s stories and three things that workers could take on board:
• Ask about and listen to women’s experience of sustained hostility directed towards the mother/baby relationship
• Ask about, acknowledge and respect women’s protective feelings, thoughts and actions towards their babies.
• Applaud women’s efforts to find a safe space where they could relate to their babies and when women have no safe space, help them to access some.
Of course, when living with domestic abuse women are not always able to protect their babies, especially when they cannot protect themselves, but let’s stop seeing them as the problem. By learning from women who have formed relationships with babies in domestic abuse, workers can act with understanding of context to promote women’s protection of their babies.
For more information about my research
View Fiona’s presentation that accompanied her talk in Edinburgh.
“Domestic Violence and the Place of Fear in Mother/Baby Relationships: “What Was I Afraid Of ? Of Making It Worse?” Journal of Interpersonal Violence June 2013 vol. 28 no. 9 1817-1838
Fiona Buchanan, School of Psychology, Social Work and Social Policy, University of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia
Read other CRFR blogs on gender-based violence
Monday, 5 August 2013
CRFR welcomes Evan Stark
Author of Coercive Control: How Men Entrap Women in Personal Life, Professor Evan Stark, is visiting the Centre for Research on Families and Relationships from August to October 2013 as Leverhulme-funded exchange fellow.
Evan Stark is a forensic social worker and award-winning researcher with an international reputation for his work on the legal, policy, and health dimensions of interpersonal violence.
He recently hosted CRFR associate director Nancy Lombard on her lecture tour of the US and you can read Nancy’s account of her stay and her reflections on Evan Stark and Anne Flitcraft’s work together.
While Evan is based in Edinburgh he’ll be meeting a range of researchers, campaigners and policy makers, and talking to national and local government officials working on gender-based violence issues. Find out about two events he is speaking at here:
• Gender Based Violence Research Network, Annual Conference, 29 August 2013
• Voices unheeded: mothering though domestic abuse, Scottish Women’s Aid 1 October 2013
More about Evan
A founder of one of the first shelters for abused women in the United States in the 1980s, Professor Stark codirected the Yale Trauma Studies with Professor Anne Flitcraft, conducting research that was the first to document the significance of domestic violence for female injury and make links to child abuse and a range of other health and behavioural problems.
Professor Stark has served as an expert in more than 100 criminal and civil cases, including a successful federal class-action suit against New York City that made it unconstitutional to remove children from mothers solely because the mothers had been victims of domestic violence.
His book Coercive Control: The Entrapment of Women in Personal Life (2007) won awards from the Association of American Publishers and the American Library Association. The book tracks the implications for policy and administration of reframing domestic violence as a “liberty crime.”
His current research involves evaluating state initiatives in domestic violence and assessing the potential role of independent oversight panels in improving the effectiveness of state services.
Find out more about the concept of coercive control by listening to Evan Stark speaking about his research and practice on utube
Evan Stark is a forensic social worker and award-winning researcher with an international reputation for his work on the legal, policy, and health dimensions of interpersonal violence.
He recently hosted CRFR associate director Nancy Lombard on her lecture tour of the US and you can read Nancy’s account of her stay and her reflections on Evan Stark and Anne Flitcraft’s work together.
While Evan is based in Edinburgh he’ll be meeting a range of researchers, campaigners and policy makers, and talking to national and local government officials working on gender-based violence issues. Find out about two events he is speaking at here:
• Gender Based Violence Research Network, Annual Conference, 29 August 2013
• Voices unheeded: mothering though domestic abuse, Scottish Women’s Aid 1 October 2013
More about Evan
A founder of one of the first shelters for abused women in the United States in the 1980s, Professor Stark codirected the Yale Trauma Studies with Professor Anne Flitcraft, conducting research that was the first to document the significance of domestic violence for female injury and make links to child abuse and a range of other health and behavioural problems.
Professor Stark has served as an expert in more than 100 criminal and civil cases, including a successful federal class-action suit against New York City that made it unconstitutional to remove children from mothers solely because the mothers had been victims of domestic violence.
His book Coercive Control: The Entrapment of Women in Personal Life (2007) won awards from the Association of American Publishers and the American Library Association. The book tracks the implications for policy and administration of reframing domestic violence as a “liberty crime.”
His current research involves evaluating state initiatives in domestic violence and assessing the potential role of independent oversight panels in improving the effectiveness of state services.
Find out more about the concept of coercive control by listening to Evan Stark speaking about his research and practice on utube
Tuesday, 30 July 2013
Comparing US and UK approaches to preventing violence against women
CRFR associate director Nancy Lombard reports on the last leg of her US lecturing tour, visiting the Centre on Violence against Women and Children at Rutgers University.
Rutgers University in New Jersey is known for its research. I was excited about the opportunity to find out more about the Centre on Violence against Women and Children, its ethos, aims and research - with a view to further expanding and consolidating our own Gender Based Violence Research Network back in Scotland.
Sarah McMahon, one of the associate directors, spoke about how the Centre works alongside shelters and other organisations to provide research, evaluations and training, with an emphasis on complementing existing services so as not to compete for the limited funding that was available. One of the main ongoing projects was the evaluation of bystander programmes and their effectiveness - read the published papers online.
An interesting comparison with Scotland is that in the USA it tends to be women's organisations that are involved in the delivery of Mentors in Violence Prevention programmes whereas in Scotland the delivery has mainly been by the police,for example through Scotland's Violence Reduction Unit, with the exception of Get Savvi, by Scottish Women's Aid.
The Centre at Rutgers has identified similar benefits and issues with the bystander programme as we have in Scotland. Members of the Centre questioned Scotland's use of a primarily US initiative transplanted 'wholesale' to a Scottish audience. They stressed the community base of the programme, which extends beyond the scope of the school day. In the US the programmes are based on university campuses or at community centres: in the UK they are mostly delivered in secondary schools.
The success of the Mentors in Violence Prevention initiative relies upon getting participants to identify with particular women and girls, i.e. that woman could be your mum, your sister, your girlfriend. However, as we saw in Stubenville - where one of the boys involved in the filming of a gang rape repeatedly said ‘that could be your sister man’ off camera - trying to personalise 'the victim' does not always work.
In our discussion about ‘othering’ the researchers from Rutgers shared my concern about what effect the process has on those women with whom a perpetrator does not identify, perhaps on a cultural, economic, or ethnic basis. Does it allow perpetrators to rationalise that ‘my (mother, girlfriend, sister) wouldn't get herself in that position’?
Some of the other research projects at Rutgers include creating economic independence education programmes that will be delivered in refuges, to help women build a life for themselves. Another is looking at the drop-out rates for female engineers on the degree programme at universities in Liberia trying to find out why they are so high.
I talked about Scotland and its unique position in the UK, in relation to the gendered definition of violence against women. When asked about the gendered definition and the LGBT community I referred to the work of Scottish Women's Aid's Nel Whiting: A Contradiction in Terms?: A Gendered Analysis & Same Sex Domestic Abuse.
Around 90 people who worked with children and young people, or were active in the violence against women movement came to a breakfast event where I presented my research on young people's understandings of men's violence against women. Sarah McMahon introduced me by saying I had a mesmerising accent! Surely the best introduction ever!
I would like to thank all of the women I met at the Centre and those who attended my talk. I was made to feel so welcome and left feeling inspired and motivated by our shared interests and vision.
Dr Nancy Lombard
associate director, Centre for Research on Families and Relationships (CRFR) University of Edinburgh Editorial Board Violence Against Women http://vaw.sagepub.com/
www.gcu.ac.uk/gsbs/staff/drnancylombard/
Nancy.lombard@gcu.ac.uk
Rutgers University in New Jersey is known for its research. I was excited about the opportunity to find out more about the Centre on Violence against Women and Children, its ethos, aims and research - with a view to further expanding and consolidating our own Gender Based Violence Research Network back in Scotland.
Sarah McMahon, one of the associate directors, spoke about how the Centre works alongside shelters and other organisations to provide research, evaluations and training, with an emphasis on complementing existing services so as not to compete for the limited funding that was available. One of the main ongoing projects was the evaluation of bystander programmes and their effectiveness - read the published papers online.
An interesting comparison with Scotland is that in the USA it tends to be women's organisations that are involved in the delivery of Mentors in Violence Prevention programmes whereas in Scotland the delivery has mainly been by the police,for example through Scotland's Violence Reduction Unit, with the exception of Get Savvi, by Scottish Women's Aid.
The Centre at Rutgers has identified similar benefits and issues with the bystander programme as we have in Scotland. Members of the Centre questioned Scotland's use of a primarily US initiative transplanted 'wholesale' to a Scottish audience. They stressed the community base of the programme, which extends beyond the scope of the school day. In the US the programmes are based on university campuses or at community centres: in the UK they are mostly delivered in secondary schools.
The success of the Mentors in Violence Prevention initiative relies upon getting participants to identify with particular women and girls, i.e. that woman could be your mum, your sister, your girlfriend. However, as we saw in Stubenville - where one of the boys involved in the filming of a gang rape repeatedly said ‘that could be your sister man’ off camera - trying to personalise 'the victim' does not always work.
In our discussion about ‘othering’ the researchers from Rutgers shared my concern about what effect the process has on those women with whom a perpetrator does not identify, perhaps on a cultural, economic, or ethnic basis. Does it allow perpetrators to rationalise that ‘my (mother, girlfriend, sister) wouldn't get herself in that position’?
Some of the other research projects at Rutgers include creating economic independence education programmes that will be delivered in refuges, to help women build a life for themselves. Another is looking at the drop-out rates for female engineers on the degree programme at universities in Liberia trying to find out why they are so high.
I talked about Scotland and its unique position in the UK, in relation to the gendered definition of violence against women. When asked about the gendered definition and the LGBT community I referred to the work of Scottish Women's Aid's Nel Whiting: A Contradiction in Terms?: A Gendered Analysis & Same Sex Domestic Abuse.
Around 90 people who worked with children and young people, or were active in the violence against women movement came to a breakfast event where I presented my research on young people's understandings of men's violence against women. Sarah McMahon introduced me by saying I had a mesmerising accent! Surely the best introduction ever!
I would like to thank all of the women I met at the Centre and those who attended my talk. I was made to feel so welcome and left feeling inspired and motivated by our shared interests and vision.
Dr Nancy Lombard
associate director, Centre for Research on Families and Relationships (CRFR) University of Edinburgh Editorial Board Violence Against Women http://vaw.sagepub.com/
www.gcu.ac.uk/gsbs/staff/drnancylombard/
Nancy.lombard@gcu.ac.uk
Monday, 8 July 2013
Exploring Gender-Based Violence - and the woods - in the US
CRFR Associate Director Nancy Lombard's second post from her trip to the US
"I was delighted that the students from Stonybrook’s social welfare degree programme engaged
in such an animated way after my lecture this week. Discussions covered a range
of wider issues including women's objectification in the media and children's
exposure to different forms of violence. The visit was organised by Dr Kathy Monahan Director of the Family Violence Education and Research Center who has previously conducted prevalence research on domestic violence in
Ireland.
I headed North from Long Island to meet
with Professor Evan Stark in New Haven. Evan devised the concept of coercive control to help
explain the domestic abuse as behaviour that consisted of more than just 'a
fight'. It is used to describe patterns of behaviour that restrict a woman's
liberty and freedom. It explains an abuser's behaviour as controlling and as
restricting every part of a woman's life using threats, isolation and violence.You can hear him describe it on video
and read Evan's contribution to our book Violence Against Women: Current Theory
and Practice in Domestic Abuse, Sexual Violence and Exploitation The concept of coercive control has since been adapted by
the Home Office to broaden its definition of domestic violence
Evan joins us at CRFR on a Leverhulme Visiting Professorship
in the autumn for three months. During his time in Scotland he will deliver the plenary at the Gender Based Violence Research Network annual conference 'Why Gender Still Matters' ;
chair a PhD / ECR day; present an evening lecture at Glasgow University
alongside presentations to the Scottish Government, police officers,
practitioners and academics.
As part of my visit I met with Dr Anne Flitcraft, a
medical doctor with a vast history and experience in the violence against
women's movement. Anne is also married to Evan. Both Anne and Evan have a great
affinity with the UK and the refuge movement there. They talked fondly about
their time at the University of Essex and also the many friends they have made
in Scotland during their research visits there. Anne and Evan conducted research
together that found that more women sought and received medical treatment for
injuries from domestic violence than for any other reason (Stark and Flitcraft
1996). They spoke about the safe houses they had helped set up and run in the
US and also cooperative nurseries they developed with other like-minded
parents.
Anne and Evan not only looked after me, sharing academic
stories and political insights, they also showed immense hospitality to my
family. Their wonderful home in the woods provided an adventure in itself for
my children who had fun exploring a world very different to their Glasgow home.
A great time was had by all!"
Anne Flitcraft, Evan Stark and Nancy Lombard
Wednesday, 26 June 2013
US blog - violence and masculinity
CRFR Associate Director Dr Nancy Lombard is visiting the US to talk about her research on young people’s attitudes to violence against women. She blogs about the first stage of her tour.
Today is the first day of my knowledge exchange programme. I am at Stonybrook University to meet with professor Michael Kimmell an expert in gender studies, in particular, masculinities. Michael is a pro-feminist academic whose latest work is The Guy's Guide to Feminism', which was co-written with Michael Kaufman one of the co-founders of the white ribbon campaign.
I was interested to set up a meeting with Michael Kimmell to explore his own research and writings and discuss the connections that could be made with my own.
In my research looking at young people and their constructions of men's violence against women, many of the young boys I spoke to felt overwhelmed and disabled by narrow definitions of masculinity that they felt symbolised adult men and often saw this as the only way to 'be a real man'.
Their identities as young boys were structured by expectations of masculinity, but these were open to change, especially with supportive networks and friends, and when alternative masculine identities were available to them.
However, as they became older they saw these forms of masculine identities narrow and become more rigid. Such identities were associated with violence and structures of power that the young boys themselves did not want to 'aspire' to but saw little alternatives of how else to be a 'man'.
I was interested to speak to Michael about the implications of my research for the development of preventive work in schools and youth settings and the possibilities of alternative masculine identities and how this could be achieved.
We discussed how young people’s practices could be changed especially when they were exposed to alternative identities, and also how violence prevention could be personalised to encourage boys and men to see women as their mothers, daughters, sisters etc. (For example, the work of Jackson Katz and the Mentors in Violence Prevention work currently undertaken by Scotland’s Violence Reduction Unit).
However, we both agreed that whilst individuals might create change it was only by overhauling ideologies that such change could be sustained and that rigid definitions of masculinity where violence is valued could begin to be broken down.
Dr Nancy Lombard, Lecturer of Sociology and Social Policy, Glasgow Caledonian University Email Nancy
Associate Director, Centre for Research on Families and Relationships (CRFR) University of Edinburgh www.crfr.co.uk
Associate Researcher, Scottish Centre for Crime and Justice Research
Editorial Board Violence Against Women http://vaw.sagepub.com/
Editor, with Lesley MacMillan, of Violence Against Women: Current Theory and Practice in Domestic Abuse, Sexual Violence and Exploitation
Wednesday, 22 May 2013
Gender-based violence
Everyday there is another news story of rape, sexual abuse or (less frequently) domestic abuse.
However, the way gender-based violence is highlighted in the media you would be forgiven for thinking that these are one-off crimes committed by monsters. This is not the reality of gender-based violence.
Believe it or not, before (and since) Jimmy Saville and others at the BBC were accused, women and girls have been subjected to sexual assaults. Before (and following) Steubenville, male students have raped female students.
The media may have you believe that only Asian men ‘groom’ and sexually assault school girls. This, of course, is not the case, but by perpetuating such myths the media fans the fires of racism and intolerance while making such violence seem something that ‘other’ people do. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-21744674.
And well-respected business men who neighbours report as being ‘lovely’? Well, contrary to media reports, they did not just get angry one day and ‘flip’. The murders of two women a week are the final acts of control in a lifetime of domestic abuse.
Encouraging society to believe that only ‘beasts’ or ‘monsters’ terrorise, intimidate and abuse women means we are incredulous when ‘ordinary’ men are found guilty of these crimes. http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/05/11/cleveland-kidnapping-adbucted-missing-girls/2151859/
Gender-based violence needs to be reported and understood within the context of what it actually is, a global phenomenon that is both a cause and consequence of gender inequality.
Scotland's Gender-Based Violence Research Network links academics and practitioners from around the UK to organise events in Scotland which consolidate and promote the understanding of gender-based violence.
Last week Professor David Gadd from the University of Manchester came to Scotland to disseminate his ESRC-funded research ‘Boys to Men’. Gadd’s research explores why some boys become domestic abuse perpetrators when others do not, to find out what more can be done to reduce the number of young men who commit domestic abuse. All of his events were oversubscribed with the ‘This is abuse, or is it?’ seminar forced to evolve into a lecture to accommodate the extra 100 people who wished to attend
The second event organised around the project by the network was held at Glasgow Caledonian University ‘Young People and Violence: Research Engagement’. Dr Melanie McCarry (University of Central Lancashire) talked about her earlier research with the NSPCC looking at young people and dating violence. Chief Inspector Graham Goulden provided examples of his work with the Bystander Project (Violence Reduction Unit) and David Gadd spoke about further findings from his research.
The full seminar and lengthy waiting list demonstrated that there is a permanent interest in this topic and always an audience for evidence-based findings. Practitioners and academics came together with the knowledge that gender based violence is a global phenomenon that needs commitment to gendered equality, consistent funding and unfaltering efforts to continue to work towards its eradication. Media representations of the true scale and nature of such violence is one factor that can help us on our way.
Dr Nancy Lombard
Associate Director, Centre for Research on Families and Relationships (CRFR) University of Edinburgh Editorial Board Violence Against Women http://vaw.sagepub.com/
www.gcu.ac.uk/gsbs/staff/drnancylombard/
Nancy.lombard@gcu.ac.uk
The Gender Based Violence Research Network is holding two events in June:
Children, child contact and domestic abuse
£30 lunch, included:
Glasgow Caledonian University, Buchanan House
Tuesday June 18, 2013 9.30 – 1.30
The University of Edinburgh, Appleton Tower
Wednesday June 19, 2013 9.30 – 1.30
Limited places - book online now
However, the way gender-based violence is highlighted in the media you would be forgiven for thinking that these are one-off crimes committed by monsters. This is not the reality of gender-based violence.
Believe it or not, before (and since) Jimmy Saville and others at the BBC were accused, women and girls have been subjected to sexual assaults. Before (and following) Steubenville, male students have raped female students.
The media may have you believe that only Asian men ‘groom’ and sexually assault school girls. This, of course, is not the case, but by perpetuating such myths the media fans the fires of racism and intolerance while making such violence seem something that ‘other’ people do. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-21744674.
And well-respected business men who neighbours report as being ‘lovely’? Well, contrary to media reports, they did not just get angry one day and ‘flip’. The murders of two women a week are the final acts of control in a lifetime of domestic abuse.
Encouraging society to believe that only ‘beasts’ or ‘monsters’ terrorise, intimidate and abuse women means we are incredulous when ‘ordinary’ men are found guilty of these crimes. http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/05/11/cleveland-kidnapping-adbucted-missing-girls/2151859/
Gender-based violence needs to be reported and understood within the context of what it actually is, a global phenomenon that is both a cause and consequence of gender inequality.
Scotland's Gender-Based Violence Research Network links academics and practitioners from around the UK to organise events in Scotland which consolidate and promote the understanding of gender-based violence.
Last week Professor David Gadd from the University of Manchester came to Scotland to disseminate his ESRC-funded research ‘Boys to Men’. Gadd’s research explores why some boys become domestic abuse perpetrators when others do not, to find out what more can be done to reduce the number of young men who commit domestic abuse. All of his events were oversubscribed with the ‘This is abuse, or is it?’ seminar forced to evolve into a lecture to accommodate the extra 100 people who wished to attend
The second event organised around the project by the network was held at Glasgow Caledonian University ‘Young People and Violence: Research Engagement’. Dr Melanie McCarry (University of Central Lancashire) talked about her earlier research with the NSPCC looking at young people and dating violence. Chief Inspector Graham Goulden provided examples of his work with the Bystander Project (Violence Reduction Unit) and David Gadd spoke about further findings from his research.
The full seminar and lengthy waiting list demonstrated that there is a permanent interest in this topic and always an audience for evidence-based findings. Practitioners and academics came together with the knowledge that gender based violence is a global phenomenon that needs commitment to gendered equality, consistent funding and unfaltering efforts to continue to work towards its eradication. Media representations of the true scale and nature of such violence is one factor that can help us on our way.
Dr Nancy Lombard
Associate Director, Centre for Research on Families and Relationships (CRFR) University of Edinburgh Editorial Board Violence Against Women http://vaw.sagepub.com/
www.gcu.ac.uk/gsbs/staff/drnancylombard/
Nancy.lombard@gcu.ac.uk
The Gender Based Violence Research Network is holding two events in June:
Children, child contact and domestic abuse
£30 lunch, included:
Glasgow Caledonian University, Buchanan House
Tuesday June 18, 2013 9.30 – 1.30
The University of Edinburgh, Appleton Tower
Wednesday June 19, 2013 9.30 – 1.30
Limited places - book online now
Tuesday, 21 May 2013
Support in the face of danger: mothers, children and domestic violence
Emma Katz is presenting a paper at the CRFR international conference, 10-12 June 2013
When we think of domestic violence, we tend to picture a woman being hit by her partner. We imagine the pain, suffering and confusion that this can cause.
What we may not consider is that women who experience domestic violence often have children that they’re desperate to protect.
This idea raises different questions. What strategies do mothers use to support their children, both during the violence and while they’re recovering? And are these children just passive victims? Are they trying to help their mothers too?
These are questions of resistance. In the last 20 years, much research on domestic violence has focused on the harm it does to women and children and to mother-child relationships. While it’s vitally important to recognise this damage, and to take the negative effects seriously, it’s also crucial to understand how mothers and children can respond by helping each other. This aspect must be included in any effective response by statutory or voluntary services.
In my paper to the CRFR international conference on 11th June 2013 I will provide some of the first in-depth information on these topics. I will explore the accounts of 15 children and 15 mothers who took part in my PhD research.
These participants talk about the complex impacts that domestic violence had on their relationships. In some families, mothers and children became more distant. In others, they were brought closer. Yet even in families where the mental health of mothers and children was affected very adversely, they were often supporting each other in powerful ways.
Interviewees also describe how they worked hard to repair their relationships with each other after fleeing the violence. As 14-year-old Grace said: ‘we’ve helped each other to feel better, we’ve given each other support throughout the whole thing. We have a strong relationship and we’ll have that forever’.
The role that formal support services played here was notable. Some families describe how statutory and voluntary services assisted their recoveries by helping them to achieve safety and address the problems that had built up in their relationships. However, other mothers and children said that inadequate or insensitive responses by social services, police or courts had set back their recoveries, making it harder for them to support each other.
In exploring these issues, I will aim to provide new insight into the role of mother-child supportiveness in the recovery of survivors. I will suggest a balanced approach: one that takes into account not only the damage done to mothers and children by domestic violence, but also the strength of mother-child relationships in the face of adversity.
Emma Katz is an ESRC-funded PhD student at the University of Nottingham. lqxelka@nottingham.ac.uk
Tuesday, 11 December 2012
Engaging with men to tackle violence against women
The White Ribbon Campaign's 16 days of action, from 25 November - 10 December, has just finished. It was 16 days to engage men and boys in tackling violence perpetuated against women, to challenge gender inequality and sexist attitudes and to see women's rights as a vital component of human rights.
The Scottish Parliament hosted a debate on a motion recognising the campaign and the efforts of the White Ribbon Campaign and others who have been working in this area. Led by Jamie Hepburn MSP, the debate referred to CRFR research by Nancy Lombard to call for a change in attitudes in dealing with the problem. The research, carried out in 2011, found that young children justify men's violence against women using gender stereotypes and a rigid understanding of adult relationships. It also found that young people use masculinity and the definitions of masculinity to explain why men were violent, rather than to question the violence.
It is an issue demanding recognition: in Scotland, an incident of domestic abuse is recorded every 10 minutes, and White Ribbon Scotland suggest that one in five women experience domestic abuse.
Read the report of the debate, Official report, meeting of Parliament, Tuesday 4 December 2012.
Read the CRFR research briefing written by Nancy Lombard, Young People's attitudes about violence.
The Scottish Parliament hosted a debate on a motion recognising the campaign and the efforts of the White Ribbon Campaign and others who have been working in this area. Led by Jamie Hepburn MSP, the debate referred to CRFR research by Nancy Lombard to call for a change in attitudes in dealing with the problem. The research, carried out in 2011, found that young children justify men's violence against women using gender stereotypes and a rigid understanding of adult relationships. It also found that young people use masculinity and the definitions of masculinity to explain why men were violent, rather than to question the violence.
It is an issue demanding recognition: in Scotland, an incident of domestic abuse is recorded every 10 minutes, and White Ribbon Scotland suggest that one in five women experience domestic abuse.
Read the report of the debate, Official report, meeting of Parliament, Tuesday 4 December 2012.
Read the CRFR research briefing written by Nancy Lombard, Young People's attitudes about violence.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)