"Acting in the Children's Best Interest?": Examining Victims' Responses to Intimate Partner Violence

Autor/in	Meyer, Silke
Titel	"Acting in the Children's Best Interest?": Examining Victims' Responses to Intimate Partner Violence
Quelle	In: Journal of Child and Family Studies, 20 (2011) 4, S.436-443 (8 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1062-1024
DOI	10.1007/s10826-010-9410-7
Schlagwörter	Justice; Family Violence; Child Abuse; Intimacy; Foreign Countries; Teacher Attitudes; Responses; Victims of Crime; Interpersonal Relationship; Interviews; Help Seeking; Child Custody; Self Disclosure (Individuals); Australia + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Gerechtigkeit; Abuse of children; Abuse; Child; Children; Kindesmissbrauch; Missbrauch; Kind; Kinder; Intimität; Ausland; Lehrerverhalten; Victim; Victims; Crime; Opfer; Verbrechen; Interpersonal relation; Interpersonal relations; Interpersonelle Beziehung; Zwischenmenschliche Beziehung; Interviewing; Interviewtechnik; Help-seeking behavior; Help-seeking behaviour; Hilfe suchendes Verhalten; Australien
Abstract	Victims' responses to violent experiences within intimate relationships are highly diverse and can range from remaining silent, at least temporarily, to disclosing the abuse to informal and formal sources of support. Decisions to remain silent or to reach out for support are influenced by a complex range of factors, including situational circumstances, such as the presence of children. Using data from in-depth interviews with victims of IPV (N = 29) in Southeast Queensland, Australia, I examined victims' responses to IPV when children are present in the abusive household. Victims, who accessed general formal support sources, including the criminal justice systems and Child Protection Services (CPS), frequently faced stereotypical and victim-blaming attitudes along with a lack of understanding of the dynamics of IPV and the circumstances surrounding victims' help-seeking decisions. The presence of children in abuse relationships complicated victims' help-seeking decisions because fear of harm and loss of custody often delayed or hindered the disclosure of IPV to formal support sources. Once disclosing the abuse victims often found themselves trapped between CPS expectations to protect their children by leaving the abusive partner and a reluctance on behalf of judges and magistrates to offer the necessary protection by including children on granted Domestic Violence Orders (DVO). These findings highlight the ongoing need for specialized training of CPS personnel, judges and magistrates along with an ongoing collaboration with the women's sector to ensure the safety of victims and their children throughout the help-seeking process and to improve victims' confidence in disclosing IPV. (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	Springer. 233 Spring Street, New York, NY 10013. Tel: 800-777-4643; Tel: 212-460-1500; Fax: 212-348-4505; e-mail: service-ny@springer.com; Web site: http://www.springerlink.com
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10