Growing up in domestic violence: What does maternal protectiveness mean?

Abstract

There is limited understanding at the current time about the nature of relationships between women and their children in contexts of domestic violence. This is particularly the case in relation to maternal protectiveness, which tends to be seen in simplistic terms of whether women stay in violence or leave to protect their children. This article reports on a qualitative research study that explores mother-child relationships in the context of domestic violence. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 14 women and two men who were raised in contexts of domestic violence. Thematic analysis revealed complexities between the former children's perceptions of their own needs and their mothers' vulnerabilities in the context of violence, as well as shifting understandings over time that involved development of deeper insights into the impact of violence on their mothers and themselves. The nuances of maternal protectiveness identified through this analysis can help social workers appreciate the multiple factors that impact on children's relationships with their mothers in contexts of violence. The findings therefore have practice implications for social work with women who mother in domestic violence as well as children and adults who grow up in these environments.

Assessing violence in the family – social work, courts, and discourses

“…The prevalent discourse in placement cases, the mother's failure to protect the children, has been reported in many studies (Buchanan, Wendt, and Moulding 2014;Landsman and Hartley 2007;Douglas and Walsh 2010;Hester 2004;Humphreys 2008). …”

“…Buchanan, Wendt, and Moulding 2014;Douglas and Walsh 2010;Humphreys 2008;Landsman and Hartley 2007) similar blaming of the alleged victim also occurs in other institutional contexts, such as in, for example, rape trials (Drew 1992;Jokila 2010), police interviews of human trafficking victims (Lindholm, Börjesson, and Cederborg 2014;Matoesian 2000), or maternity healthcare (Keskinen 2005), among many more sites.…”

“…However, it was one of the main discourses used in justifications of out-of-home placements. In previous studies the mother's failure, or "mother-blaming", has also been found to be a common way of describing families' situations by child protection services (Buchanan, Wendt, and Moulding 2014;Little 2003;Landsman and Hartley 2007). It was central to this discourse that the mother's responsibility was not only to control the children, but also to constrain the father.…”

Opening doors: Women's participation in feminist studies about domestic violence

“…Over the past decade we have conducted in-depth face to face interviews and conducted focus groups with women who have survived domestic violence in six separate studies (Buchanan et al, 2013(Buchanan et al, , 2014(Buchanan et al, , 2015Wendt andZannettino, 2009, 2015;. Recently, we found ourselves engaging in conversations with each other about our experiences as interviewers.…”

«Da skjønte jeg at nå smeller det snart»

“…Barns forsøk på å forhindre, dempe eller unngå vold, er godt beskrevet i faglitteraturen (Se for eksempel Buchanan, Wendt & Moulding, 2015;Mullender mfl., 2002;Øverlien, 2012). I 2002 intervjuet Mullender og kolleger 45 barn fra 25 familier om deres erfaringer med vold.…”