Responding to the protective needs of children affected by domestic violence

1
Responding to the protective needs of children
affected by domestic violence

• Professor Cathy Humphreys
• University of Melbourne Victoria

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Outline Issues

• Definition
• Challenges for protecting children living with
  domestic violence
• widespread social problem
• invisible men, culpable women
• managing the interface with family law
• differential impact on children
• Engaging with the issue of severity
• Strengthening the relationship between mothers
  and children

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Defining Domestic Violence

• Domestic violence is an abuse of power
  perpetrated mainly (but not only) by men against
  women both in relationships and after
  separations. It occurs when one partner attempts
  physically or psychologically to dominate and
  control the other. Domestic violence takes many
  forms. The most commonly acknowledged forms are
  physical and sexual violence, threats and
  intimidation, emotional and social abuse and
  economic deprivation.
• (Commonwealth Partnerships Against Domestic
  Violence, 1997)

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Definition of family violence

• Family violence is an issue focused around a wide
  range of
• physical,
• emotional,
• psychological and
• economic abuses
• that occur within families, intimate
  relationships, extended families, kinship
  networks and communities.
• (Indigenous Family Violence Task Force Final
  Report, 2003)

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3 Different Australian Surveys

• 1996 Womens Safety Survey 23 of women
  experiencing domestic violence
• 2003 International Violence Against Women Survey
  (Aust) 34 of women experiencing domestic
  violence
• 2005 Personal Safety Survey.16 of women
  experiencing domestic violence
• IVAWS covers more than physical violence in line
  with the definition

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The gendered pattern

• British Crime Survey (2004)
• Reported being subjected to DV in the past year
• 13 of women and 9 of men
• Subjected to 4 or more incidents
• 89 were women
• Of all incidents
• 81 involved violence by men against women.
• Women were overwhelmingly the most
• severely injured (3 times more likely)
• Fearful (3 times more likely)

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Disturbing numbers of children

• ABS survey - of 5000 children surveyed 25
  witnessed violence against a parent .
• (Indermaur, 2001) (estimate of 962,000 children
  under 14)
• Domestic violence incidents attended by police
  (Victoria)
• Children were present at 48 (Approx. 14,000
  incidents)

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A new policy environment

• High expectation to report children living with
  domestic violence (see Bromfield and Higgins 2005
  for State differences)
• Domestic violence hitched to the child
  protection juggernaught (Featherstone and
  Trinder, 1997)

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A major social problem

• The largest category of reported child protection
  concern in most states.
• Emotional abuse largest category of substantiated
  abuse (42)
• NSW 80 of helpline reports involve Alcohol or
  other drugs and DV
• Significant aspect of overwhelming the Tasmanian
  statutory system (Jacob and Fanning 2006).
• In Victoria 52 of substantiated child protection
  cases occur in a context of domestic violence

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DV Centre Stage

• Statutory child protection is a mainstream
  domestic violence intervention organisation
• Domestic violence is not on the margins of the
  work

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Culpable women and invisible men

• How to manage and structure a child protection
  system which responds to an adult victim and a
  child victim?
• How to re-focus the intervention to manage the
  perpetrator?

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The interface with family law

• Most perpetrators of family violence will be
  given contact with their children.
• A systems issue which requires continued
  strategic intervention
• A front line issue which requires evidence
  gathering and documentation

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New responsibilities for workers

• Protecting children from domestic violence means
  gathering evidence which is available for the
  Family Relationships Centres and Family Court
• Protecting women from being seen to make false
  allegations
• Protecting children from the equal time
  provision

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Separation example

• Heightened risk of escalation and homicide
• London domestic homicide review showed 76 of
  women separated or in process of separation
• Sexual assault in context of domestic violence
  116/217 during or post separation
• Child contact - vulnerability to post-separation
  violence

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Impact of domestic violence

• 102 children in refuges showed rates of
  behavioural and emotional disturbance 2.5 times
  the rate of children living without violence.
  (WOLFE et al., 1988)
• Meta analysis of 118 studies showed significantly
  poorer outcomes on 21 psychosocial measures for
  children witnessing domestic violence, than
  those not living with violence (Kitzmann et al,
  2003).

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Direct child abuse

• UK prevalence study of children and young people
  showed 8-10 young people who suffered serious
  physical abuse also experienced domestic violence
  (Cawson, 2002)
• Overview of studies shows 30-66 of children who
  suffer physical abuse also living with domestic
  violence (Graham-Bermann Edleson, 2001)

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Child Risks and protective factors

• Direct abuse/exposure to violence a false
  distinction
• Some studies suggest double whammy of direct
  physical abuse and exposure lead to worse
  outcomes
• Mohr and Mertin (2001) no difference
• Kitzmann et al 2003 118 studies no
  difference.
• Longscan children under 8 witnessing violence
  towards primary caregiver may be more traumatic
  than physical abuse.

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Surviving in the face of adversity

• Resilience not an individual trait children
  live in different contexts of severity and
  protection
• In any sample of children between one third and a
  half are doing as well as or better than children
  not living with family violence.

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Over-arching principles

• Safety and protection of children
• Empowerment and safety for women
• Responsibility and accountability of perpetrators
  (Burke, 1999)
• Support for the relationship between mothers and
  children

20
Linking children and womens well-being

• 58 mothers living in a refuge
• 26 of children had few behavioural problems,
  high levels of self-esteem, no anxiety recorded
• 36 mild anxiety and above average self-esteem
  (Hughes and Lukes, 1998).
• Children whose mothers were not experiencing
  depression show fewer emotional problems (Hughes
  et al, 2001 Moore and Pepler, 1998)

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The role of the perpetrator

• Domestic violence is an attack on the
  mother-child relationship an indirect effect is
  undermining the womens emotional well-being so
  that she is not in a good position to parent.
• The most significant and detrimental impact on
  children is created by undermining the health and
  well-being of the childs primary carer (English,
  2003)
• A domestic violence abuser cannot be a good
  father an oxymoron
• .

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Undermining the mother

• Disabling the mother physically through violence
  so she is unavailable to her children.
• Disabling the mother mentally through trauma and
  depression so she is emotionally unavailable.
• Criticising and insulting the mother in front of
  the children which undermines their respect for
  her.
• Undermining her parenting
• Women may also be sexually assaulted and
  humiliated in front of their children

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Strengthening the mother-child relationship

• Domestic violence is an attack on the
  mother-child relationship
• A role for workers in helping women and children
  de-brief together
• A role for workers in recognising the absent
  presence of the perpetrator which affects the
  mo-child relationship
• Talking to My Mum activities

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An integrated domestic violence system

• A system which meets the needs of children for
  safety, well-being and development
• Responds to women and children with separate but
  linked services
• Appropriate intervention with the perpetrator

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Aspirations and action

• Developing child protection and family
• violence work which provides both
• safety and healing

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Workbooks

• Available from
• Humphreys, C., Mullender, A., Thiara, R.K. and
  Skamballis, A. ( 2006) Talking to My Mum A
  Picture Workbook for Workers, Mothers and
  Children Affected by Domestic Abuse London,
  Jessica Kingsley Publications
• Humphreys, C., Mullender, A., Thiara, R.K. and
  Skamballis, A. (2006) Talking About Domestic
  Abuse A Photo Activity Workbook to Develop
  Communication Between Mothers and Young People.
  London, Jessica Kingsley Publications
• Footprint Books www.footprint.com.au