In the UK, domestic violence (DV) is one of the most common safeguarding concerns children and young people report (CAADA, 2014). However, little is known about how children experience participation in interventions that aim to support their recovery if they have been affected by DV. This study aims to understand children's experiences of participating in a group programme facilitated by a DV organisation in the UK. Interviews were conducted with four children (aged 7-10) using a flexible, creative and child-led approach. A thematic narrative analysis was used, using a small story approach to narrative data. Results indicate that issues of children's agency, choice and intersecting identities are central to not only how children experience DV but also how they experience recovery. Findings highlight the experiential and relational aspect of therapeutic spaces that can enable children to form relationships and construct meaningful identities. Conclusions suggest that children need to be consulted in inclusive ways in order to contribute to the development and accessibility of services designed to support them when they have been affected by DV.

A small scale qualitative project, undertaken by an interdisciplinary domestic violence research group involving academic researchers and research assistants, with colleagues from Independent Domestic Abuse Services (IDAS), investigated youth aggression and violence against parents. Following the literature review, data was generated through several research conversations with young people (n = 2), through semi-structured interviews with mothers (n = 3) and practitioners (n = 5), and through a practitioner focus group (n = 8). Thematic analysis and triangulation of the data from parents, practitioners and young people, elicited interconnected and complex overarching themes. Young people could be both victim and perpetrator. The witnessing or experiencing of domestic aggression and violence raised the concept of ‘bystander children’. The impact of young people experiencing familial violence was underestimated by parents. For practitioners, the effects of working with domestic violence was shown to be significant - both positively and negatively.

Aim This methodological paper outlines a participatory and reflexive research approach in the context of in‐depth, small‐scale and preliminary qualitative research conversations with a vulnerable population. Developing a participatory and reflexive methodology The project involved developing in‐depth research conversations with three mothers and their children who had experienced domestic violence. Underpinned by poststructural feminism and relational ethics, a participatory approach to facilitate informal, nondefensive, participant‐centred conversational spaces for the women and children was developed. Creating both the relational medium and the dialogical processes through which to engage with the women and children prompted multiple and complex challenges for the research team. Some members of the research team had prior experience of domestic violence, generating implications for ethical and reflexive research practice. Implications for research practice The study highlights the complexities and challenges of developing a participatory approach with vulnerable populations including the quandaries faced, the importance of critical reflexivity during in‐depth qualitative inquiry and the value of utilising a project steering group to support research governance. All members of the research team were emotionally impacted by the research work and the relational engagement with participants. A collaborative, peer‐supervisory approach to support the researchers, the research processes – and, ultimately, the participants – was essential. Two case vignettes are included to exemplify researcher experiences.

This article summarises our review of and response to the UK government’s public consultation process on the 2021–2024 Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Strategy. From an intersectional feminist perspective, we identify methodological, ethical and conceptual limitations to the consultation process, highlighting that a heavy focus on criminalisation risks compounding barriers for those seeking support or justice as it does not engage with the lived experiences of those who experience violence. Examples of violence in the public survey released for consultation were underpinned by racist and Islamophobic discourse, constructing Othered groups of people as violent by drawing on sensationalised and racialised forms of violence. In response, we provide recommendations and considerations for strategy reform, and for those working and researching in the VAWG sector.

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