Web resource:	https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20726145
Type:	Journal Article
Title:	Mother abuse: a matter of youth justice, child welfare or domestic violence?
Other Titles:	Journal of Law and Society
Authors:	Nixon, Judy Hunter, Caroline Parr, Sadie
Keywords:	Adolescent violence towards parents
Year:	2010
Publisher:	John Wiley & Sons
Citation:	37 (2), June 2010
Notes:	General Overview: :Abuse of mothers by their (mostly male) adolescent children is becoming increasingly prevalent in advanced welfare states. However, while a growing body of literature in North America and Australasia has documented this phenomenon, researchers and policy makers in the United Kingdom (UK) have remained largely silent on the issue. This article looks at the empirical data on mother abuse and explores how the prevailing youth justice, domestic violence and child welfare frameworks have contributed to the silence that surrounds it. Discussion: :The first half of the article discusses the empirical data on mother abuse from a three year evaluation of six family support projects (FIPs) in the UK. These projects provide support to families who are homeless or at risk of eviction as a result of anti-social behaviour. The evaluation related to 256 families and involved interviews with service users, many of whom were single mothers, and service professionals. Mother abuse was not a focus of the evaluation but was raised by many women themselves, prompting the authors' interest in the subject. The second half of the article discusses the failure of current UK legislation and policy frameworks to respond to mother abuse. The authors argue that the prevailing criminal (or youth) justice, domestic violence and the child welfare frameworks all rely on a polarised conception of victims and perpetrators of violence, which limits their capacity to account for mother abuse. The article concludes that further research is needed to establish the extent and scope of the mother abuse in the UK, and to develop a legal and policy framework which best conceptualises the problem.
URI:	https://anrows.intersearch.com.au/anrowsjspui/handle/1/15860
ISSN:	14676478
Appears in Collections:	Journal Articles

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