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  • Author: Rhys Lawry

Beyond the Victim-offender Binary: Legal and Anti-violence Intervention Considerations With Women Who Have Used Force in the U.S. and Australia (2021)

In the United States (U.S.) and Australian contexts, the fight to achieve legal and societal recognition of cisgender men’s violence against cisgender women operated according to an incident-based victim-offender binary. Those held accountable for the violence were seen as offenders, those who survived the violence were seen as victims. This binary persists across police, court, corrections, intervention, and child protection settings. However, work with cisgender heterosexual women with offenses of abuse and violence demonstrates that the binary does not capture their complex experiences. Instead, they have “offended” in the context of often surviving long-term harm in their families of origin and from their intimate partners. Because their experiences do not align with the binary, they are caught in ineffective and retraumatizing responses.

The authors use an intersectional theoretical framework to explore how heterosexual cisgender women’s use of force complicates the victim-offender binary. By understanding women who have used force as having both survived and caused harm, rather than “victims” or “offenders,” the authors call attention to the limitations of, and harm caused by, binary approaches. The authors also call for a reconceptualization beyond the binary—challenging established legal and intervention frameworks. To demonstrate the need for this reconceptualization, the authors report on U.S. and Australian legal cases, intervention approaches, and discuss socio-legal systems implications.

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Read more about the Women who use force Project

Researchers: Larance, L. Y., Kertesz, M., Humphreys, C., Goodmark, L., & Douglas, H.

Year: 2021

Citation: Larance, L. Y., Kertesz, M., Humphreys, C., Goodmark, L., & Douglas, H. (2021). Beyond the Victim-offender Binary: Legal and Anti-violence Intervention Considerations With Women Who Have Used Force in the U.S. and Australia.  Affilia, 37(3).  https://doi.org/10.1177/08861099211060549

Domestic violence and the impact on young children (2021)

This chapter outlines the impact of domestic violence (DV) on young children. Exposure to DV has detrimental effects on the emotional and behavioural adjustment of significant numbers of children. Impacts on children vary greatly, depending on developmental stage, the longevity, severity and extent of the violence and abuse, the quality of their relationships with caregivers, and the intersection of adversities experienced. While many children living with DV have protective factors that mean that they do as well as those in the general community, outcomes are worst for those children where the violence is chronic and severe and there are few mediating influences.

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Researchers: Kertesz, M., Fogden, L., & Humphreys, C.

Year: 2021

Citation: Kertesz, M., Fogden, L., & Humphreys, C. (2021). Domestic violence and the impact on young children. In Devaney, J., Bradbury-Jones, C., Macy, R., Øverlien, C. and Holt, S. (Eds), The Routledge Handbook of Domestic Violence and Abuse (pp. 128 – 140) London: Routledge.

Practice-led research: Developing communities of practice to drive research and practice change in the domestic and family violence arena (2020)

Conducting practice research with migrants and refugees is a complex exercise, involving multiple agendas, diverse actors and varied intercultural relationships. Methodological challenges should not be underestimated, even when the research is conducted by an experienced practice researcher with prior knowledge of the cultural context. Before undertaking cross-cultural research, the practice researcher should consider both backstage and frontstage performativity. Backstage considerations refer to the political and cultural context and implications for trust and reciprocity with migrant and refugee communities. The frontstage performance refers to ethical considerations such as benefice, fidelity and the avoidance of harm by ensuring informed consent, guaranteeing anonymity and privacy, respecting subjects’ rights and applying findings for improved outcomes for clients.

The last consideration is a priority for practice researchers who are genuinely committed to improving the well-being of migrants and the effectiveness of social interventions in achieving improved social justice outcomes. Frontstage performance also involves the selection of methods that are culturally sensitive and safe, negotiating languages and translation and the recruitment of difficult-to-reach participants. Good intentions alone will not guarantee ethical anti-oppressive research.

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Read more about the STACY Project

Researchers: Heward-Belle, S., Humphreys, C., Healey, L., Tsantefski, M., Isobe, J., Toivonen, C., … & Wilde, T.

Year: 2020

Citation: Heward-Belle, S., Humphreys, C., Healey, L., Tsantefski, M., Isobe, J., Toivonen, C., … & Wilde, T. (2020). Practice-led research: Developing communities of practice to drive research and practice change in the domestic and family violence arena. In The Routledge Handbook of Social Work Practice Research (pp. 418-429). Routledge.

Shifting practice in domestic violence: child protection workers partnering with mothers (2019)

This chapter will draw on recent research (a national case reading of child protection files in Australia) to highlight the gaps in understanding the impacts of DV on parenting skills, and the gaps in recognising and documenting mothers’ strengths and efforts to keep their children safe. Sometimes this has involved mothers being deemed as ‘non-compliant’ with child protection instructions. An intersectional lens will be taken to explore a feminist perspective on child protection practice.

The framework developed by Safe & Together™ will be used to inform the chapter and bring a feminist lens which is inclusive of the needs of children for agency, safety and protection. There is evidence that supporting the mother–child relationship is the most effective way of keeping children safe where there is domestic violence. Strategies required at an organisational and a practitioner level will be explored, including the need for a differential response to children exposed to DFV. This response recognises that not all children are significantly affected by DFV and not all mothers find their parenting significantly compromised. While partnering with mothers, it should be recognised that children may have different perspectives on violence and have their own views about what keeps them safe.

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Researchers: Humphreys C., Kertesz M., Healey L., Mandel D.

Year: 2019

Citation: Humphreys C., Kertesz M., Healey L., Mandel D. (2019) Shifting practice in domestic violence: child protection workers partnering with mothers. In C. Zufferey & F. Buchanan (eds.), Intersections of Mothering: Feminist Accounts (1st ed., pp. 194-205). United Kingdom: Routledge.