Type:	Journal Article
Title:	Battered mothers speak out: participatory human rights documentation as a model for research and activism in the United States
Other Titles:	Violence against women
Authors:	Mesh, Cynthia J Bancroft, Lundy Slote, Kim Y Cuthbert, Carrie Driggers, Monica G Silverman, Jay G
Keywords:	Human rights;Child protection;Family law
Categories:	Victims / Survivors
Year:	2005
Publisher:	Sage Publications
Citation:	11 (11), November 2005
Notes:	This article presents the work of the Battered Mothers’ Testimony Project in the US that documented human rights breaches against battered women and their children in the Massachusetts family court system. It looks at participatory human rights methodology as an alternative model for research and activism, and outlines findings and human rights analysis of how the Massachusetts family courts dealt with custody and visitation in cases with partner and child abuse. It also examines US obligations under international human rights law and a human rights approach to violence against women and children in the US. The range and nature of the problems reported by the 40 women were consistently raised by the advocates, lawyers, service providers and some of the state agents interviewed. It suggests that the human rights approach allows the focus to be on government accountability through information and analysis about the roles and responsibilities of the government instead of the individual perpetrator in perpetuating and solving the problems. The human rights approach can expose government abuses by documenting the voices of survivors. By framing their experiences within the international human rights framework, the truth and seriousness of their experiences are validated. By holding the family courts accountable for respecting human rights, international obligations are also strengthened. The human rights model can also bridge the gap between research and activism. It summarises the findings as: failure to protect battered women and children from abuse; discrimination and bias against battered women; degrading treatment of battered women; denial of due process to battered women; allowing the batterer to continue the abuse through the family courts; and failure to respect the economic rights of battered women and children.
URI:	https://anrows.intersearch.com.au/anrowsjspui/handle/1/13572
ISSN:	1077-8012
Appears in Collections:	Journal Articles

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