Social Work - Research Publications
Permanent URI for this collection
Search Results
1 - 10 of 21
-
Item
-
ItemDomestic violence and substance use: overlapping issues in separate services?( 2005-09)The links between substance use and domestic violence are increasinglybeing noticed by services providing help to people with drug and alcoholproblems or to those affected by domestic violence. Questions are beingraised about the extent of overlap between substance use and domesticviolence, and the ways in which the dual issues of substance use anddomestic violence can be addressed through more holistic approachesto intervention.This briefing summarises findings from a one-year research project, jointlyfunded by the Home Office and the Greater London Authority (GLA),which aimed to:1. identify strategies for improving practice and policy by building upongood practice in both substance misuse and domestic violence sectors; 2. explore the overlap between domestic violence and substance use bymen and women who are accessing services in the sectors - includingsurvivors and perpetrators of abuse; 3. ascertain service user experiences of help-seeking and service provision.The research consisted of:1. semi-structured interviews with 48 ‘key informants’ to identifyproblems and directions for progressive practice. Key informantsincluded service providers and policy makers in both the domesticviolence and substance use sectors;2. questionnaires of those using substance use and domestic violenceservices. The questionnaires were distributed by 13 agencies’ thatcarried out an assessment of services users;3. interviews with 19 service users from four women’s refuges, fourdomestic violence advice and advocacy services, four substance useagencies and two perpetrator programmes.
-
ItemCo-ordination Action on Human Rights Violations: The justice system as an arena for the protection of human rights forwomen and children experiencing violence and abuse. Final report( 2005-12)The Co-ordination Action on Human Rights Violations (CAHRV) addresses human rights violationsin the context of interpersonal relationships. CAHRV is a broad-based, collaboration betweenresearch institutions, policy networks, and individual researchers, funded through the EuropeanCommission's 6th Framework Programme. Major goals of the action are to integrate parallelresearch discourses on violence; unify the theoretical and empirical basis for policy; stimulate new,interdisciplinary and transnational research; and support practitioners, policy-makers, andscientists by facilitating the dissemination of knowledge and expertise. CAHRV focuses on allforms of interpersonal violence, centres them conceptually and strategically within a human rightsdiscourse, and aims to integrate relevant strands of research.Within this project, sub-network 3 ‘intervening with gender-based human rights violations’ aimed todevelop a systematic overview of research on the successes and failures of legal and policysystems to address interpersonal violence, to explore the role of civic participation in addressinggendered violence and compile information on the intersections between criminal, civil and familylaw in response to gender-based violence.Work-package 11, within sub-network 3 aimed to create a research synopsis on the justice systemas an arena for the protection of human rights of women and children. The focus was on the lawprovided for protection from interpersonal violence with a specific focus on its intersections withcriminal and family law.
-
ItemSocial services responses: problems and possibilities( 1998)An overview of some of the issues that were arising in social services responses to domestic violence.
-
ItemDomestic violence and the politics of trauma(Elsevier, 2004)Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) has had a chequered history in relation to gender-based violence and specifically domestic violence. There is evidence that a significant proportion of women who are abused suffer from PTSD. However, there remains a controversy about whether this is a useful and progressive concept on which to base intervention. Mainstream mental health services in the UK have shown little ‘take up’, while women’s services supporting survivors also remain ambivalent, although for different reasons. Clinical psychology has been where the concept has been embraced. This paper highlights aspects of Judith Herman’s (Herman, Judith (1992). Trauma and recovery. New York: Basic Books) original intervention framework which have remained undeveloped, specifically the attention to social support and the need for an active social movement. These ideas have been marginalized in the development of professional and individualised approaches to survivors. It is suggested that reinvigorating these ideas would enhance the work with survivors and provide greater resonance with the underpinnings of work with women’s services.
-
ItemDomestic violence and child abuse(Department for Education and Skills, 2006)The risks of harm to children caused by domestic violence have now been recognised. An amendment to the definition of harm in the Children Act 1989 now includes ‘impairment suffered from seeing or hearing the ill treatment of another’ (Adoption and Children Act, 2002). This reflects that children living with domestic violence are over-represented among those children referred to statutory children and families teams with concerns about child abuse and neglect, and represent up to two thirds of cases seen at child protection conferences. However, children’s experiences of domestic violence are more than a child protection issue. Research with children suggests it has implications for education, health, welfare, civil and criminal justice.
-
ItemWhatever happened on the way to counselling? Hurdles in the interagency environment(Elsevier Science Ltd., 1995)A study of confirmed cases of child sexual abuse showed that only 56% of children received an appointment at a counselling agency in spite of explicit policy guidelines that children have an opportunity for counselling in the aftermath of the abuse. The study revealed that problems created at all levels within the interagency environment led to children becoming "lost" in the system and not receiving the services from which they could have benefited. Particular attention is given to changes in the broader policy and resource context which have ramifications at the local interagency level and in the services provided for sexually abused children.
-
ItemExploring new territory: police organizational responses to child sexual abuse(Elsevier Science Ltd., 1996)Police response to the escalating numbers of child sexual abuse cases has led to the development of a wide range of organizational models within both police departments and the interagency context. This paper compares the results of different models of police intervention in New South Wales, Australia. The data suggest that specialist police units in which police manage the full investigation provide a more comprehensive service than those where the police response is fragmented between units within the police force.
-
ItemWhat’s in a name? Reflections on the term 'non-abusing parent'(John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., 1997)For some time we have been concerned that the use of the term ’non-abusing parent’ in recent years may have had some negative consequences for policy and practice. This term has been widely adopted to refer to one parent, usually the woman, where a child has been sexually abused by the other, or to both mother and father where a child has been sexually abused by a non-parent. Our concern is that it may enable the needs for professional help of both parents and children in these circumstances to be overlooked.
-
ItemChild sexual abuse allegations in the context of divorce: issues for mothers(British Association of Social Workers, 1997)The investigation and assessment of allegations of child sexual abuse constitute a difficult and contentious area for practitioners involved in this process. When these allegations emerge in the context of divorce, the problems of assessment appear to be compounded. This paper argues that when mothers raise concerns about child sexual abuse during divorce proceedings these are often construed as vindictive or misguided. Such constructions of mothers have significant implications for the protection,or lack of protection of children in these circumstances. The way in which this ’knowledge’ about mothers has developed is explored and held up against the results of empirical studies which show that there is little basis for this construction of mothers. Possible explanations for this incongruity are suggested with a view to progressing child protection in this area.