Type:	Journal Article
Title:	‘But mum’s a victim too’: exploring the relationship between women’s own experience of domestic violence and their decision to harm their children
Other Titles:	Domestic Violence & Incest Resource Centre Newsletter
Authors:	Fitzroy, Lee
Keywords:	Parenting;Impact on children and young people;Theories of violence;Child protection;Perpetrators
Year:	2005
Publisher:	Domestic Violence & Incest Resource Centre
Citation:	(4), Summer 2004/2005
Notes:	"An earlier version of this paper was presented at the Home Truths Conference, Melbourne, 15-17th September, 2004." Seeking to contribute to the discussion on women’s use of violence and what it tells us about the social context in which it occurs, this paper focuses on the subject of the physical assault of children by their mothers who are also victims of domestic violence. Summarises what we know about family violence and, in the context of feminist and post-modern theory, discusses the issues of power relationships and one’s choice to perpetrate violence. Reviews the literature that investigates the ‘hierarchies of vulnerability’ in families and the social construct of ‘motherhood’. Offers recommendations for practice with women and children which include: the need for workers to react appropriately to mothers’ concerns about their own mothering and fear of harming their children; the need for workers to name women’s use of violence and to provide for children’s safety; the need for workers to be aware of the denial that may occur around women’s use of violence; and the need for workers to be supervised and trained in dealing with women as both victims and perpetrators of violence.
URI:	https://anrows.intersearch.com.au/anrowsjspui/handle/1/12993
ISSN:	1324-4264
Appears in Collections:	Journal Articles

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