Domestic Violence and Child Protection

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Domestic Violence and Child Protection

• Jude Irwin, Fran Waugh, Marie Wilkinson
• School of Social Work and Policy Studies
• The University of Sydney

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Research Aims

• to examine practitioners knowledge and
  understandings of domestic violence and child
  protection
• to review the child protection strategies
  utilised by practitioners
• to identify effective strategies which could be
  used in responding to both women and their
  children.

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The Four Studies

• An analysis of the NSW Department of Community
  Services responses to domestic violence
• The understandings of practitioners of the
  policy and practice issues related to the
  protection of children and young people who live
  with domestic
• Womens perceptions about living with domestic
  violence and the protection of their children
• The views of children and young people who had
  lived with domestic violence about violence in
  their families

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Study 1 Analysis of NSW Department of Community
Services responses to domestic violence

• Observation and analysis of intake practice in 5
  Community Service Centres (CSCs)
• The tracking of a sample of intake referrals over
  an 18 month period
• Interviews with intake workers (13) and assistant
  managers (9) at these CSCs

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Summary Study 1

• 431 referrals were analysed
• 217 (just over 50) were tracked
• 111 (of the 217) were initially referred for
  domestic violence
• Domestic violence the most frequent reason for
  referral to DoCS
• Prevalence of domestic violence in re-referrals
  to DoCS
• Different responses to domestic violence referrals

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Summary Study 1 contd

• Different outcomes
• Number of referrals varies in different community
  groups
• Workplace constraints
• The stressful nature of intake work
• The importance of supervision and training
• Knowledge and skills about domestic violence
  essential in child at risk assessments

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• Study 2 Practitioners speak about domestic
  violence and child protection
• Study 3 Women speak about children and domestic
  violence
• Study 4Children and young people speak about
  domestic violence

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Study 2 Practitioners speak

• Severe limitations of time and availability of
  personnel from police and DoCS
• The very limited counselling services available
  to women and
• Limited resources, including safe and suitable
  accommodation
• Accommodation
• The legal intervention

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Study 3 Women speak about children and domestic
violence

• I went to the police and the policeman said to me
  Lady you did something wrong. Why did you do
  that thing? And I said, I didnt do anything.
• What women and children go through is disgusting.
  As the woman youre made out to be the person who
  is the perpetrator of violence and its all in
  your head.
• Workers need to be open-minded and be patient
  with children as they are a lot harder to draw
  out. Children need to be able to trust workers.
• Children should not have to go to court, when a
  sexual assault is reported, the procedures take
  too long there should be closed courts or mini
  courts children should be spoken to alone.

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Study 4 Children and young people speak about
domestic violence

• I used to run to the phone box and call the
  police when it happened, go to the neighbours or
  my Aunties. The first few times I would stay with
  my Mum so he wouldnt hurt her more.(11 year old
  female)
• Once I broke up the fighting by walking up to my
  mum, hugging her and saying I love you. When I
  would try and break up the fights, my dad would
  leave the house and my mum would stay and
  sometimes the fight would stop (10 year old
  male).
• Mum you have to make an ultimatum, I said,
  Either the gun stays in this house or I do cause
  Im not staying in this house with him and a
  gun. I said Thats just a recipe for disaster.
  She said Well call the police and so I did and
  they called and took the gun. (17 year old
  female)

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• Sometimes Id get scared but a lot of the time
  Id get angry. And Id take it out on him my
  anger or Id take it out on Mum sometimes too
  when Mum and him moved away. When we moved away
  from him it was hard to deal with and used to
  take my anger out on Mum. (17 year old male)
• No one helped my mum (8 year old male)
• My mum had no-one there to help her with
  anything. (10 year old female)
• I didnt talk to my sisters about the violence as
  my mum told me not to. I didnt talk to my
  friends either. I used to talk to my mum. No-one
  helped my mum. (12 year old male)

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• She would help me, ask me all these questions so
  I would know when I was getting upset. ( 8 year
  old male)
• Me and my brothers are close but were not like
  that we dont talk about whats going on much. I
  keep my feelings about whats going on to myself.
  Or me and Mum sit down and talk about it. (17
  year old male)
• When I was 14, I met this detective from name
  police station, and she stood by me. Shes been
  great, and explains things clearly to me. If I
  need her, I can have a chat to her, any
  questions. Something like that is good, but
  unfortunately, not all police are like that
  anymore, especially with young people (16 year
  old female).

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• They knew that I was being beaten, and it was
  screwing up my mind, and I was angry inside, and
  hurt, and instead they said, Keep going with it
  for a few more years. And maybe if I was taken
  out of home I wouldnt have got into a
  relationship with a guy that beat me. Maybe I
  wouldnt have tried drugs. When they finally
  said, oh god, this girl is traumatised, I was on
  speed, I was prostituting myself, I w as trying
  to commit suicide, I went into Yasmin for 6
  months. I was off the rockers by then. Its a
  bit late to start helping someone then (16 year
  old female).

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• We need to people who will listen to us and who
  will believe us. And kids have got to learn that
  its not right. A lot of kids think that its
  right.. Id never had a father so I didnt know
  what he was doing was wrong. I knew I didnt like
  it. (13 year old female)
• Children need someone to talk to outside their
  family and friends and counselling. (11 year old
  female)
• I just think there needs to be more people around
  for kids to talk to, like we have counsellors in
  school and stuff but unless a kid has a problem
  and a teacher knows about it they dont get to
  talk to anyone. I think there should be
  counsellors in school who talk to every
  individual child and just to see how theyre
  going. Sometimes kids will open up if they trust
  someone. But if no ones talking to them and no
  ones saying that theyre here for you, theyre
  not going to say anything. No one told me that
  they would listen. Im sure some of the teachers
  knew what was going on. Theyd have to, theyd be
  stupid not to. They kind of didnt want to know
  about it. Its easier to pretend that somethings
  not happening. If a kid comes up and says theyre
  being hurt then theyve got to do something. (18
  year old girl)

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Good practice guidelines

• Individual practitioners -roles and
  responsibilities
• Agency roles and responsibilities
• Interagency roles and responsibilities
• Community roles and responsibilities