Electronic Resources:	http://www.adfvc.unsw.edu.au/RTF%20Files/Issues_Paper_13.rtf
Web resource:	http://www.adfvc.unsw.edu.au/PDF%20files/IssuesPaper_13.pdf
Type:	Journal Article
Title:	Domestic violence and child protection: challenging directions for practice
Other Titles:	Australian Domestic & Family Violence Clearinghouse issues paper
Authors:	Humphreys, Catherine
Keywords:	Parenting;Child protection;Impact on children and young people;Interagency work
Year:	2007
Publisher:	Australian Domestic & Family Violence Clearinghouse, UNSW
Citation:	(13), May 2007
Notes:	General overview: The child protection system in Australia has been inundated by mandatory notifications of children experiencing domestic violence. This paper explores alternatives to mandatory notification, including risk assessment, multi-disciplinary assessment teams and coordinated community responses. Discussion: The author identifies four problems with using the child protection system to protect children who are experiencing domestic violence. Firstly, the high rates of domestic violence in the Australian community means that legislation requiring mandatory reporting of children affected by domestic violence has contributed to the doubling in the rate of child protection notifications in Australia in the seven years to 2005/6. These notifications have swamped the system and resulted in the shifting of resources from family support and prevention to screening and investigation. It may be that mandatory reporting has not resulted in increased child safety. Secondly, domestic violence services have traditionally been provided through community based organisations with a focus on empowering women. In contrast, child protection services have been provided by the state and combine support services with coercive powers. Requiring domestic violence workers to notify the child protection services about children affected by domestic violence overrides the key values of empowerment and self determination for women. Thirdly, research indicates that child protection workers continue to focus on mothers who fail to protect children from domestic violence, rather than addressing the perpetrator’s violence. Fourthly, child protection services focus on protecting the child by encouraging the mother to separate from the father / perpetrator, while family law legislation contradicts this strategy by supporting contact between the child and the father, and requiring the mother to facilitate that relationship. The author notes that about 50% of children affected by domestic violence show no evidence of harm. In these cases statutory referral may be unnecessary. It is not yet known how harm can be predicted, but the child’s age and development, proximity to and severity of violence will be relevant. A risk assessment of the perpetrator also needs to be conducted, using standardised tools, the victim’s own assessment and the worker’s professional judgment. The ability of the mother to maintain her mothering capacities in the face of violence also needs to be assessed. Using small, multi-disciplinary initial assessment teams to make decisions about appropriate interventions is being trialled in several jurisdictions. An alternative approach is to provide coordinated community based support for children and women, reserving the statutory, criminal and civil justice responses for perpetrators. Both models require high levels of coordination and increased resources. Coordination must extend beyond state based services to include the Family Court. Interventions should focus on the perpetrator of abuse, while providing support to women and children. Inundation of the child protection system can be prevented by creating more rigorous criteria for notification and supporting increased professional discretion.
URI:	https://anrows.intersearch.com.au/anrowsjspui/handle/1/14310
ISSN:	14438496
Appears in Collections:	Journal Articles

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