Jan Breckenridge

Speaking of mothers. . .How does the literature portray mothers who have a history of child sexual abuse?

ABSTRACT The tendency to cast mothers in a negative light has featured in much of the literature researching child sexual abuse. More recently however, this trend has become increasingly evident in any number of empirical discussions focusing on mothers who themselves have a history of child sexual abuse. This article presents a detailed thematic analysis of the ways in which the literature presents these mothers, particularly concentrating on research examining their parenting post disclosure of their childs sexual abuse. A critical reading of the literature supports commentary on methodological problems in research design as well as assumptions made about mothering, the nature of support, and the focus on the effects of childhood sexual abuse to the exclusion of the influence of other childhood experiences and difficulties.

Use and abuse : understanding the intersections of childhood abuse, alcohol and drug use and mental health

It is well recognized that there is a relationship between child abuse, mental illness, and alcohol and drug abuse. This article reports on the findings of a qualitative research project exploring the experiences of adult survivors of child abuse in alcohol and other drugs (AOD) services, as well as the experiences of AOD workers with this client group. The project complements existing research on the relationship between child abuse, AOD use and adult mental health; however, it uniquely explores these issues from the perspectives of clients and workers. This article will present three key research findings from this research project: making the links between abuse in childhood and AOD use as adults; compartmentalized service provision and rigid treatment paradigms; and lastly, constructing effective and comprehensive AOD services. The article concludes with an analysis of the skills and strategies required to better facilitate building a platform of care and treatment for adult survivors of child abuse w...

Domestic Violence and Children with Disabilities: Working Towards Enhancing Social Work Practice

Abstract Globally, domestic violence, where a family member, partner or ex-partner attempts to physically, sexually or psychologically dominate or harm the other, is now recognised as one of the most entrenched and pervasive forms of violence in society. Nevertheless, internationally and in Australia, the occurrence of domestic and other forms of violence in families affecting children with a disability is poorly understood. The present article examines the information available on domestic violence and children with a disability. Through the use of case studies drawn from a large disability organisation in New South Wales, Australia, practice issues with families where domestic violence affects a child with a disability are drawn out for social workers to consider. These considerations are designed to enhance practice in this field.

Responses to family and domestic violence: supporting women?

ABSTRACT At a time when domestic and family violence (DFV) is being cast as a national emergency, comparable to terrorism, it is timely to review the relationship between feminist advocacy and state-led responses. The principles of long-standing feminist interventions into DFV, which privilege victims’ accounts of their experience, are at risk of being sidelined in the contemporary emphasis on evidence-based policy and atheoretical approaches. However, promising signs are evident in interventions that support women’s economic security, safe and permanent housing, and employment. These interventions are constituted by specific, local networks of actors including government and non-government organisations. The effects of DFV can be distributed across multiple domains, including workplaces, housing, and courts. These diverse effects may best suit an integrated, multi-systemic response, which is based on recognition of the importance of empowerment, agency, and meeting practical needs.

Leaving violent relationships and avoiding homelessness - providing a choice for women and their children

The report Staying Home/Leaving Violence describes a research study that explores how women, leaving a relationship where they experience domestic violence, can remain safely in their own homes with their children, with the violent offender being removed. In this qualitative study, 29 women were interviewed about their experiences of leaving a violent relationship. Of these 29 women, nine remained in their own home. This article describes the factors that enabled these nine women to remain in their homes and comments on the policy and practice implications for health workers.

Patterns of Intimate Partner Violence victimization among Australia and New Zealand female university students: An initial examination of child maltreatment and self-reported depressive symptoms across profiles

The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between child abuse, depression, and patterns of Intimate Partner Violence victimization among female university students in Australia and New Zealand. Data were based on the Australia/New Zealand portion of the International Dating Violence Study (2001–2005) (n = 293). Using Latent Class Analysis, Low-, Moderate-, and High-level Intimate Partner Violence profiles were identified that differed according to the variety, degree, and severity of Intimate Partner Violence. Furthermore, the combination of child maltreatment and self-reported depressive symptoms differed across profiles. The results highlighted differential pathways from child maltreatment to specific Intimate Partner Violence victimization patterns. These findings provide further evidence for the importance of early intervention strategies to prevent Intimate Partner Violence, and specifically for children who experience abuse and neglect to help prevent subsequent victimization experiences in intimate relationship contexts.

Is gender important? Victimisation and perpetration of intimate partner violence in mainland China

Establishing the prevalence of intimate partner violence (IPV) has been recommended by International Conventions and Declarations for some time beginning with the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW Articles 12 and 19) in 1979. One important recommendation of such international protocols is the implementation of national population prevalence surveys to establishing IPV as a serious social issue globally, which is intended to provide data for planning effective responses within signatory countries. However, not all countries have undertaken national prevalence surveys meaning that there are gaps in our understanding of who are the perpetrators and victims of IPV in different cultural contexts. This article presents the results of a scoping review of literature examining gender differences in prevalence rates of victimisation and perpetration of IPV in mainland China (hereon China). There has been little written about the prevalence of IPV in China generally, and this scoping process located only nine peer-reviewed articles written in both English- and Chinese-language journals focusing on both gender and IPV published between 1997 and 2016. Results of this scoping review demonstrate that while both women and men perpetrate IPV in China, the prevalence rates of different types of IPV reflect gender differences in both perpetration and victimisation, suggesting that IPV is not a unitary phenomenon. The paper concludes by discussing the implications of the findings including the importance of increasing awareness of IPV in China more generally and developing gender-specific interventions to directly address different types of IPV. Directions for future research are also canvassed.

Local Context Matters

There are high levels of family and sexual violence (FSV) in Papua New Guinea (PNG). Many businesses in PNG, like an increasing number of organizations worldwide, want to address the effects of FSV on their employees and operations to minimize human suffering and to maximize productivity. To date, a range of workplace strategies designed to address related forms of violence (FSV, domestic and family violence, sexual violence, intimate partner violence, violence against women, and gender-based violence) have been developed and implemented, albeit mainly in Western contexts. This article considers the extent to which these workplace strategies can or should be modified for workplaces in PNG. Findings from participatory action research undertaken with FSV service providers, advocates, businesses, and their employees in PNG strongly indicate that workplace strategies should be modified to reflect cultural and other contextual specificities. In particular, workplace strategies should reflect local understandings about what constitutes FSV, who may perpetrate and who may be victimized by FSV, and what supports are available to victims of FSV. It is important to note that while the supports examined are necessarily culturally and contextually specific to PNG, they have subsequently provided important insights relevant for workplace responses in other developing and industrialized countries, thereby extending the evidence base of possible workplace strategies generally.

Economic Abuse as an Invisible Form of Domestic Violence: A Multicountry Review:

The predominant perception of intimate partner violence (IPV) as constituting physical violence can still dominate, particularly in research and media reports, despite research documenting multiple forms of IPV including sexual violence occurring between intimate partners and various forms of psychological and emotional abuse. One frequently hidden or “invisible” form of abuse perpetrated within intimate partner relationships is economic abuse, also referred to as financial abuse in much of the literature. While the links between gendered economic insecurity and economic abuse are emerging, there remains a lack of consistency about definitions within the United States and globally, as there is no agreed upon index with which to measure economic abuse. As such, the purpose of this article is to review and analyze the global literature focused on either economic or financial abuse to determine how it is defined and what measures are used to capture its prevalence and impact. The 46 peer-reviewed articles that met all inclusion criteria for analysis came from a range of countries across six continents. Our review found that there is growing clarity and consistency of terminologies being used in these articles and found some consistency in the use of validated measures. Since this research is in its “infancy,” we need to have stronger collaborative efforts to use similar measures and terminology. Part of that collaborative effort is to consider how language and cultural differences may play a part in our understanding of economic abuse.

Estimating the Prevalence of Intimate Partner Violence in Mainland China – Insights and Challenges

Intimate partner violence (IPV) has been the subject of inquiry by scholars and governments, the latter being required by International Conventions and explicitly supported in National Plans in select jurisdictions to undertake this type of research. While establishing the prevalence of IPV has been a priority globally for some time now, there has been relatively little focus on estimating the prevalence of IPV in Mainland China until recently. This article presents the findings of a scoping review of literature examining the prevalence of IPV in China. The scoping process located only 14 peer-reviewed articles written in English and 12 in Chinese-language journals published between 1997 and 2016 meeting the inclusion criteria set for the review. The results of the scoping review indicate that in China, the lifetime prevalence of victimization of IPV reported in the general population is within a range of 17.4 to 24.5% for psychological violence, 2.5 to 5.5% for physical violence, and 0.3 to 1.7% for sexual violence using national survey data. The prevalence of IPV in China can also be estimated from research data sets focusing on specific population groups. However, the methodologies used in such studies vary considerably making comparison of results difficult. As well as providing insight into the prevalence of IPV in China, this article identifies the challenges in estimating prevalence and presents contextual factors particular to China. Directions for future research to develop a culturally specific definition of IPV and identify IPV in non-married couples are also suggested.