Professionalism or ageism? Social worker approaches to children exposed to intimate partner violence

Maria Erikssonmaria.eriksson@soc.uu.se

Social Work and Social Development

Stockholm 8-12 July 2012

”Children who have experienced their father’s violence against their mother encounter the family law”

• Individual interviews with children (17 informants, 10 boys & 7 girls, 8-17 years old)

• A two-fold perspective on children:– The principle of care– The principle of participation

• Participation– information, consultation, decision-making, initiative

• Validation of experiences of violence• Approaches

– Perspectives on the child and ways of acting; as they come across through children’s interview statements

Approaches: the process

An adult oriented approach

A child oriented approach

Protects the child from participation

Attempts to increase the level of participation

Participating child

Protected child

Disqualified adult

Well, could they have done it in another way that would have been better?

Willow: No

Just that you were there was not good?

Willow: No, it was boring at their place. But at [project for children exposed to domestic violence] it is fun.

What is good there then?

Willow. We paint and have a snack and…

Was it anything you wanted to say to them [social workers in the family law case]?

Willow: No [Interviewer: No]. They were rather mean. They were only offering water.

Adult positions

An adult oriented approach

A child oriented approach

Protects the child from participation

Attempts to increase the level of participation

Child oriented participant

Care personPaternalism without care

Approaches: the violence

Not protected fr. violence Protected from violence

Do not talk about violence (protection)

Talk about violence (validation)

Unprotected victim Victim: Validation

Invisible victim Protected victim

Bill: … the first time after I had met him I started to feel sick, started to have stomach ache, I went to the loo, I vomited, but they came again because they did not care about how I felt [Interviewer: No] No, if I felt good, if I felt sick, I should go there anyway. Even if I felt sick I should go there anyway. I could have stomach ache, I could feel sick, I could […] it could be anything, but they said you should go there anyway.

Adult positions

Not protected fr. violence Protected from violence

Do not talk about violence (protection)

Talk about violence (validation)

Indifferent adult Helping adult

Denying adult Protecting adult

Constructions of ”professionalism”

• Participation: “Professionalism” as…• (age) equality and child-orientation• care orientation• non-caring paternalism

• Violence: “Professionalism” as…• help• protection• denial • indifference