CHILDREN’S EXPERIENCES OF DOMESTIC
VIOLENCE – REALITIES AND FANTASIES OF
MIGRATION AND MOVEMENT
Jane Callaghan, Joanne Alexander, Lisa Fellin, Judith
Sixsmith, University of Northampton
Children’s experiences of domestic
violence – resistance, resilience, agency
•
Most psychological and social science research on domestic violence focuses on its
damaging effects on children – mental health, education, social skills, future
relationships
•
A small body of work explores resilience – largely quantitative research, in terms
of cognitive skills, emotional competence, and maternal role in buffering the
negative impact of
•
A few small scale qualitative studies consider resilience and recovery
•
Only two studies explore use of space – Overlien and Wardaugh
UNARS
•
UNARS is the largest qualitative study of children’s experiences of domestic
violence.
•
110 interviews and photo elicitation activities with children in 4 European
countries
•
UK interviews used spatial maps and family draw, Italian interviews included use
of some drawings
•
Focus groups with professionals and carers
•
Policy analysis
•
A further 20 interviews with children following a therapeutic intervention
CULTURE AND CONTEXT AS AN
EXPLANATORY FRAMEWORK
FOR CHILDREN’S EXPERIENCES
OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
Culture and immigration as ‘reason’ for
violence
•
Participant 2: [...] it is also important to bear in mind the cultural and socioeconomical levels, as well as the immigration factor […] in lower classes the violence
normally is physical, and in higher ones it is verbal, they are more sophisticated.
Those behaviours are learnt [...] (Spain – Professional focus group)
•
Conflations of poverty, migration, violence - the ‘immigration factor’.
•
culture as normalising violence
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P1: [...] it seems to be what they’re used to, normal, so there’s lots of relearning to be
done. (UK – Professional focus group 1)
•
P3: the problem is the normalisation of the situation (Spain - Professional focus
group)
•
In Greece, a participant suggested that his culture of origin resulted in not getting
the help and the protection he was needed.
•
Nikos: Many people could do something but they didn’t ... …because we were from
Albania and we would speak Albanian and my parents would be fighting over there
((eh)) others would say «((Eh)), these people are Albanian, and that’s how their
culture is» they would think, ((eh)) «and, logically, that’s how they speak or that’s
how they fight». (Greece, Int: 11)
•
Intervention less likely – “culture x is like that”
•
Isolation
•
Children suggested that neighbours were less likely to intervene because ‘culture x
is like that’. There was also greater potential for social isolation for children who
experience domestic violence and who come from migrant backgrounds. This is
because they feel themselves to be doubly different, as both survivors of violence,
and as migrant children.
Block to service seeking
Ayisha: They’re (cultural issues) not picked up, it’s like most people don’t get it. I got
married ‘cause I wanted my family ‘cause I wasn’t feeling well, but my family done me
up. It wasn’t, it’s like, it wasn’t my mum’s fault what happened the day I got married,
for three days I came back, I had a ((cries)) my back was ruined, everything was ruined.
I didn’t go to the GP, I didn’t do nothing and my mum was just like “It’s normal”. I came
back and there was no “Ayisha I love you” she was like “Go, go get a job and work”
((cries)). My mum’s never loved me, she’s always just wanted respect and d’you know
what, I’m starting to hate my own culture because of that. (UK, Parent Focus Group 1)
Service access issues
•
Int:
(...) So you think services are particularly difficult to access (...)
•
Ayisha:
They’re difficult to access, and I’ve noticed that the workers that work
here, they don’t, well, in my opinion, I don’t think they know much about forced
marriages or anything, so I just sit there, I get on with whatever I’m doing, I drop my
kids off, come back, cook, I go out. I don’t even bother coming in anymore ((to see
Support Worker in office)) because I don’t think anyone can help me. And one, I’ve got
a problem where I can’t ((erm)) open up (...) communicate my feelings. I can with
individuals in the flat, but I can’t do it with a professional ((cries)) so I, I, I, I’m never
gonna get the help, ‘cause I can’t do it
Services ill equipped
•
“When the police arrived, the father convinced them that it was her who had been
violent. She couldn’t speak much English, and couldn’t explain. So they took her
away, and left the children with him. It took us six months of fighting, and a
serious incident, to get the children back.” (UK professional)
Migrant cultural identity as defiant
positive
George (interviewing his brother): if they came here, they’d just travelled from Brazil and came here and they said something really
hurtful and really, really mean to you, what would you do to them?
Say, “I am Paul, welcome to my country. Are you Chinese?”
If someone was being mean about your country, what would you say to them?
Nothing.
So you’d just let them be mean to your home country, that’s won football cups and are really good at football as well.
Don’t care. What about you?
I’d tell them to shut their little mouth.
I’ll tell them to shut their little mouths.
I’d tell them to piss off.
I’d tell them to piss off.
I’d say that they’re gay.
I’d say that they’re gay.
Nostalgia, and fantasies of home
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Natalia (Greece): But all this at home I don’t like ((.)) I mean, when we go to Albania
there I have fun because there we don’t argue, we don’t ((.))
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
AND INTERNAL
DISPLACEMENT
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Movement, disruption and loss
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Often underestimated – discourses of risk and safety v wellbeing
Nancy:The scary part of having police come into my
house which means I’ve got a phobia of police now, I
don’t like them, and then something happening in the
middle, and then my dad being taken somewhere
Int: Something happening in the middle [Nancy:
Yeah], what was that?
Nancy:I don’t know
Int:You don’t remember that bit?
Nancy:No. I just remember my dad being taken out of
the house and taken off somewhere ((.)) for
something
Int: He was taken off somewhere, and then you
moved to ((this county))
Nancy:Yeah, in the same night
Int: ((surprised)) the same night?!
Nancy: So I didn’t get to say bye to any of my friends ((.))
so now I think they hate me, and I don’t think they
remember me anymore
Int: That sounds difficult that you had to move in the same
night, what was it like for you?
Nancy:Horrible, awkward, disturbing, ((.)) sad, ‘cause I lost
loads, all of my, loads of my stuff, and my aminals
Int: You left your animals as well?
Nancy: ((umm)), they got sold
Int: Did they?
Nancy: I got Tyra still
Int: Who’s Tyra
Nancy: My doggie.
he’s made me lose on school work, ‘cause he’s made us move, move to somewhere
((looks at voice recorder)) ((smiles)) I’m not allowed to tell you where it is. But I’ve
((.)) it’s just been really hard and all I’ve been doing is since we’ve moved to this
place, ((smiles)) I’m not allowed to tell you where about …. But I’ve ((.)) it’s just been
really hard and all I’ve been doing is since we’ve moved to this place, ((smiles)) I’m
not allowed to tell you where about, is just ((.)) is just boring ((.)) ‘cause all I do is sit
down and watch TV and I, it gets boring and I feel like I should be at school instead
of sitting down all day but doing nothing but watching TV
(Ben, 8)
MIGRATION AND
FANTASIES OF ESCAPE
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Violence occurs in material spaces
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Control of space, control of bodies
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Affective and embodied
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Children’s management of abuse is not therefore always (or even mostly) verbal –
they learn to cope by using the spaces around them, and their own bodies
My window on the world: Constraint and
escape
When it rained it was always a bad day. When the
weather was good I went out with my good friends,
we went around the city. Above all we went out to do
graffiti.
But when it rained I often stayed at home. Sometimes
I passed my time by looking at the drawings made by
rain drops on the window. I preferred to think about
nothing. My father always stayed on the couch
watching television. My mother, on the other hand,
watched it into the kitchen. And when not watching
television, they screamed. It was really better when
they watched television. I could never watch it during
the afternoon when they were there and so I looked at
the window, it was like my personal TV. (Fabio, Italy)
•
The window as a space of potentiality – escape, and a world
beyond here.
•
Rain as enabling a meditative state; also creative
Escapism: Outdoor Space and fantasies of
flight
In the drawing you can see two
greek words:
“I imagine”
My imagination. I think various
things. For example, to be up in
the mountain with my friends,
running, doing, playing. There are
moments where I imagine ghosts
too, for example like an adventure.
“I dream”
It’s like I’m flying. Somewhere, in
another world. (Kostas, 14,
Greece)
Getting away from it all – the fantasy of
escape
Here I’m fine. You know? And
when I’m out of here I will be
better
Amaya, 17, Spain
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Defiantly resilient self positioning
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Associated image – open, outdoor
spaces
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Water, open sky – symbols of calm;
also symbols of escape and freedom
Getting away from it all: the fantasy of
escape
Lally: If I leave, I’ll go abroad
Int: Where does this thought
come from?
Lally: Because I do not like Italy.
Int: You already know where to
go?
Lally: Either London or New York
or Los Angeles
(Lally, 16, Italy)
Spatiousness v constraint
The sea, the sun, I like nature
very much, I like the sun, very
much. The light, I like very
much this picture, to see the
sun, the sea. And also there is
this ship. The journey.
(Natalia, 15, Greece)