National self-image as an obstacle to ensuring children’s rights in the context of domestic violence and family law – the case of Sweden

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to highlight and discuss contradictions and challenges in the current policy and practice regarding fathers' violence towards mothers and children in the Swedish welfare state. In particular, professional discourses and understandings of domestic violence in disputes about contact, custody, residence and maintenance, following parental separation, are analysed. My research suggests that abusers find ways to manipulate professionals and get them unwittingly to enable their continued control of victimised mothers and children. One conclusion is that oppression is maintained through processes of familialisation and selective repression. These discursive practices reproduce intersectional inequalities and, in doing so, in many cases result in the administration rather than prevention of further violence.

Gender- and power sensitivity, securitisation and social peace: rethinking protection for children exposed to post-separation violence

“…However, many women make the decision to leave the abusive relationship long before they are actually able to exit it physically or legally (DeKeseredy and Schwartz, 2009). Previous research on protection of children also highlights the discrepancies between policy and practice by shedding light on the limitations of policy implementation and the pitfalls of gender-neutral constructions of violence (Breines and Gordon, 1983;Eriksson, 2011;Bruno, 2018). Other challenges point to contradictions between different approaches to violence in the area of domestic violence work, child contact and child protection (Hester, 2011).…”

“…Thus, the support provided may not be adequate or effective from the perspective of children (Pringle, 1998;Hester, 2011;Stanley and Humphreys, 2015;Callaghan et al, 2018), and could pose a risk for the child involved (Bergman and Eriksson, 2018). Also noteworthy is the role of legislative frameworks, and, in particular, the fact that the requirement of the guardian's consent may deprive younger children of support (Heimer and Palme, 2016), or may grant abusive parents the right to decide on the support children receive (Bruno, 2018). Although these contributions are crucial to understanding the barriers to accessing support, there is a tendency in the field to equte support with therapy or pay less attention to protective measures for children other than therapy.…”

“…However, there are also differences in securitisation of children's violence exposure. For example, state authorities protect children from 'radicalisation' or the patriarchal 'other' but use legal and other measures to maintain the nuclear family ideal and biological fathers' rights in Nordic and white contexts, which are generally viewed as less patriarchal (Nordborg, 2005;Bruno, 2018;Kirton, 2018;for example, Knezevic, 2020a). Thus, securitisation works in tandem with racialisation and other gendered processes of othering, targeting groups of people such as migrants or Muslims, across societal contexts, including that of securitisation of gender-based violence (Aharoni and Féron, 2020).…”

“…Victims perceive these acts as coercive and controlling, causing feelings of loss of dignity and safety, powerlessness and entrapment (Stark, 2007;DeKeseredy et al, 2017;Thiara and Humphreys, 2017). Although post-separation violence often remains statistically unrecorded, the phases before, during and after separation have been documented as dangerous for women and children, and increasing risks of abuse, feminicide and homicide (DeKeseredy and Schwartz, 2009;Hester, 2011;DeKeseredy et al, 2017;Bruno, 2018). A report from Finland indicates that half of the men who had perpetrated violence during a relationship continued violent, threatening, or harassing behaviour after separation (Piispa, 2006).…”

Symbolic representation of women on literary landscape: Textual analysis of the play 'Black is My Robe'

“…Moreover, she states that this barrier of gender division is established for male liberty and freedom. What criteria is standardized to maintain the social theory bases on biological distinction is irrational and the building of patriarchy can be dismantled through the liberation of females (Acker, 1989;Bruno, 2018) Patriarchy has constructed a gender law placing the role of woman in sexuality and fertilization. Such a standard is constructed through a discourse clustering three ideas of sexuality, domesticity, and pathology.…”