This article examines the ways that domestically violent men assault women as mothers and their mothering. Drawing on in-depth interviews with 17 Australian men who had perpetrated domestic violence, this article reports their accounts of using this tactic. This tactic was found to be particularly pernicious and grounded in hegemonic representations of the "good mother." Domestically violent men deployed this tactic instrumentally to exert power and control over women and children. Raising awareness of private and public assaults on women as mothers and their mothering is a critical step toward countering oppressive constructions of women mothering through domestic violence. Keywords child and family welfare, domestic violence, mothering Definitions of domestic violence remain contested (de Haan, 2008). However, central to feminist understandings is that domestic violence constitutes a broad canvas of coercive behaviors perpetrated primarily by men to control women in intimate relationships that are embedded within wider structures of gendered inequality and sexism (Dobash, Dobash, Cavanagh, & Lewis, 2000). Men who perpetrate domestic violence deploy multiple tactics of coercive control, including physical, sexual, financial, and emotional abuse to exert power and control over female partners and ex-partners (Bancroft, Silverman, & Ritchie, 2012). This article explores one distinct tactic, namely, domestically violent men's assaults on women as mothers and their mothering. There is a small, emerging literature on this form of abuse from the perspective of survivors (Humphreys, Thiara, Sharp, & Jones, 2015; Radford & Hester, 2006). This article extends understanding of this form of abuse by examining the perspectives of domestically violent men. Increasing our understanding of this tactic from their perspective could broaden and challenge current approaches to child protection
Data from this article are derived from responses to questionnaires provided by 232 frontline workers and team leaders from a range of organizations across four Australian states who participated in The Invisible Practices Project: Engaging With Fathers Who Use Violence. This project was designed to explore the practices of workers who see perpetrators of domestic violence outside the relative safety of group-work programs. Thematic analysis was employed to examine the research question: What is the organizational context that contributes to, or constrains, the practices of frontline workers intervening with fathers who use violence? This article reports the ways that agencies increase the visibility of, and practices with, fathers who use violence. Increasing the visibility of fathers who use violence is posited as a crucial driver of policy and practice reform aligned with feminist goals of eliminating sexist institutional practices. It is argued that such practices render fathers who use violence invisible, reinforce patriarchal views of family roles and responsibilities, intensify the scrutiny on the mothering of women survivors, and compound the impact of domestic violence. This article documents emerging practices that seek to redress practices that support patriarchal views of family roles and responsibilities and has implications for understanding the capacity of social workers and other professionals to intervene with fathers who use violence.
It is well established in the literature that fathers who use violence harm women and children. Statutory child protection workers and other human service professionals now face strong injunctions to work with these men. However, insufficient attention has been given to considering the processes for intervening with fathers who use violence, and the organisational context to support workers in refocusing their practice. Workers lack clear guidance and organisations lack specific understandings of how to support workers in this complex area of practice. Australian research used co-design with professionals in Communities of Practice, supported by the Safe& Together Institute to explore the organisational context required to work with fathers who use violence. This paper presents findings of qualitative data gathered from surveys, focus groups and ethnographic notes of 30 Community of Practice sessions. Working together, practitioners and researchers identified four essential elements to support organisational development and improve practice: leadership by senior managers; recognition that domestic violence work needs to strengthen collaborative working; extensive training, supervision and coaching; and enhanced worker safety. Worker perspectives are critical in developing practice principles and identifying organisational mechanisms that support practitioners to work safely and effectively with fathers who use violence.
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