Academic literature on the topic 'Violence in children'

In this dissertation, I reconceptualize the concept of violence to consider its physical, sexual, psychological and economic dimension. I attempt to add to existing meanings of "violence" to include not only forms of abuse on the individual and group level but also abuse practiced by legal, political, ideological and economic institutions in a collective and systemic manner. Due to the significance of child maltreatment around the globe, I focus on the impact of law on this problem specifically through a study of domestic and international use of the best interests' doctrine; evidentiary issues relating to children; child abuse reporting mechanisms and protection schemes in Canada and elsewhere; and the international protection of children's rights. Lastly, I analyze the benefits of a reoriented rights-based approach to empower children within and without the legal arena.

PONTIFÍCIA UNIVERSIDADE CATÓLICA DO RIO DE JANEIRO<br>A presente pesquisa tem como objetivo discutir repercussões da violência conjugal como violência psicológica contra crianças e adolescentes, considerando a exposição da prole em espaços de convivência familiar onde a dinâmica de violência entre o (ex) casal parental é presente e frequente. Para tanto, foi realizada uma pesquisa qualitativa, através da análise de quatro casos atendidos em uma unidade de referência da rede de proteção a mulheres vítimas de violência doméstica no município do Rio de Janeiro. Os resultados demonstram a persistência de segmentação da rede de atendimento, desfavorecendo a abordagem da família em sua complexidade e dificultando a garantia, concomitante e integrada, dos direitos humanos de mulheres vítimas de violência conjugal e de seus filhos quanto às repercussões destes conflitos como expressão possível de violência psicológica.<br>The following research aims to discuss repercussions of domestic violence as well as psychological violence against children and adolescents, considering offspring exposure to family dynamics of frequent violence between parents. To do this, a qualitative study was conducted by analyzing four cases in a women s domestic violence treatment unit in Rio de Janeiro. The results demonstrate the continued segmentation of the service network, compromising the complexity of a family approach and making it difficult to guarantee the concurrent and integrated human rights of women domestic violence victims and their children on the impact of these conflicts as possible expressions of psychological violence.

This thesis makes a significant contribution to the existing knowledge on 'unmarried mothers'. Much of the literature on 'unmarried mothers' has been written by white, male, middle-class professionals who assume that unwed mothers are happy to place their babies for adoption so that they can be free to pursue other interests, meet other men and make a new life. However, after interviewing many of the mothers who gave up their babies in the 1950s, 1960s and early 1970s in Australia, I found this was not the case. Many of the mothers had wanted to keep their babies but were forced to relinquish them by their families and the wider society who seemed more intent on upholding nuclear family values than making available the resources needed to keep natural mothers and their babies together. My argument throughout this thesis is that given a choice - a viable economic and socially supported choice - many of the unmarried mothers, typified by those whom I interviewed, would not have parted with their babies. Most mothers interviewed, and presumably many of those in the community at large, have experienced much pain and grief as a result of the separation - a grief which is profound and lasts forever. Using Marxist feminist theories of the state and post-structural theories, my thesis highlights the perceptions and memories of birthmothers about the birthing experience and adoption as experience, process and life consequence. I also argue that the removal of white, working-class babies from their mothers compares in some small way with the removal of the indigenous 'stolen children' in the same period. The removal of Aboriginal children from their homes and cultures has been referred to by some scholars and activists as a form of cultural genocide. While the removal of babies from white, working-class, unwed mothers was different in that it had few racial implications, I argue that the system in place at the time was patriarchal and class-based and as such left the young, unwed women with no options but adoption. The thesis makes a very important and socially significant contribution to our understanding of unmarried mothers in that it presents a largely unwritten history of women. Rich in the voices of unmarried mothers, there are important conceptual, empirical and practical policy implications flowing from the research findings.

The aim of this thesis is to investigate mothers' use of violence towards their children. In particular it aims to discover what happens during violent incidents, to explain the occurrence of violence and to develop a model which assists in the understanding of violence in families. Four case studies are presented based on observations of mothers and children within a treatment centre and interviews with the mothers. Initial interviews were conducted concerning the background, relationships and attitudes of the mothers. Subsequent interviews to examine incidents of violence were conducted at the end of a day when such an incident may have occurred. For each dyad characteristic augmenting spirals of interaction are described which include violence towards the child. These spirals form the basis of a "spiral model of violence" which emphasises the role of both mother and child in maintaining violent interactions and the feedback each receives from the other. The other main components of this model are the dyad's appraisals of the situation and choices of action. Factors affecting these are described. Implications of the model for treatment are discussed with particular exmphasis on strategies aimed at altering, or widening the range of appraisals and actions of both participants.

Volume I is divided into two papers. The first is a literature review that explored the emotional experience of professionals who work with victims of domestic violence. Twelve papers are evaluated and the evidence of negative and positive effects is presented. The second is a qualitative study with young people, their mothers and their grandmothers which explored resilience after domestic violence. Data was analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Four themes regarding the memories of domestic violence, newfound stability, acceptance and strength and continued and re-scripted attachments were found. Volume II consists of five reports. The first describes the assessment of a 13-year-old boy with low self-esteem. His needs and strengths are formulated from two approaches: cognitive-behavioural and systemic. The next discusses a behavioural intervention and single case experimental design for a 15-year-old male presenting with challenging behaviours. The third paper outlines a Person Centred Care training program for staff working with older adults. The fourth is a case study of two siblings in local authority care. To consider care-plans, a formulation is informed by the complex trauma literature. The final report was an oral presentation of an admission assessment of a young woman in a high secure hospital.

This thesis makes a significant contribution to the existing knowledge on 'unmarried mothers'. Much of the literature on 'unmarried mothers' has been written by white, male, middle-class professionals who assume that unwed mothers are happy to place their babies for adoption so that they can be free to pursue other interests, meet other men and make a new life. However, after interviewing many of the mothers who gave up their babies in the 1950s, 1960s and early 1970s in Australia, I found this was not the case. Many of the mothers had wanted to keep their babies but were forced to relinquish them by their families and the wider society who seemed more intent on upholding nuclear family values than making available the resources needed to keep natural mothers and their babies together. My argument throughout this thesis is that given a choice - a viable economic and socially supported choice - many of the unmarried mothers, typified by those whom I interviewed, would not have parted with their babies. Most mothers interviewed, and presumably many of those in the community at large, have experienced much pain and grief as a result of the separation - a grief which is profound and lasts forever. Using Marxist feminist theories of the state and post-structural theories, my thesis highlights the perceptions and memories of birthmothers about the birthing experience and adoption as experience, process and life consequence. I also argue that the removal of white, working-class babies from their mothers compares in some small way with the removal of the indigenous 'stolen children' in the same period. The removal of Aboriginal children from their homes and cultures has been referred to by some scholars and activists as a form of cultural genocide. While the removal of babies from white, working-class, unwed mothers was different in that it had few racial implications, I argue that the system in place at the time was patriarchal and class-based and as such left the young, unwed women with no options but adoption. The thesis makes a very important and socially significant contribution to our understanding of unmarried mothers in that it presents a largely unwritten history of women. Rich in the voices of unmarried mothers, there are important conceptual, empirical and practical policy implications flowing from the research findings.<br>Thesis (PhD Doctorate)<br>Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)<br>School of Arts, Media and Culture<br>Full Text

Magister Legum - LLM<br>In a country in which human rights feature prominently in our discourse about who we are, as well as in the South African constitutional and legal framework, so many wrongs continue to be perpetrated on women and children. However, children seem to be particularly affected by domestic violence, either physically, emotionally or socially. In order to adequately address these diverse experiences and understand what children say, an in-depth investigation into how children experience domestic violence, and what their views are, is required. The study will focus on those children who had been affected emotionally and socially in their homes. This study will make an attempt to expand on how children experience domestic violence, what the general reaction of a selected group of children, who have observed domestic violence, is and what their views of domestic violence are. Attention was given to the relevant literature as well to legislative and policy frameworks. The study employed a qualitative research method in order to obtain in-depth data from the children. Children were selected from three schools in a small Northern Cape town, which participated in the study and the schools were grouped as follows: one school from each area, which are Nonzwakazi, Sunrise and De Aar (town). Each high school had five participants. The participants‟ ages were between 12 and 17. All the participants reside at De Aar which is situated in Prixley kaSeme District about 300 kilometres from Kimberley, Northern Cape Province. Data was coded according to the themes that emerged from the study and were analysed. The results indicated that children are able to share their experiences when given the opportunity. It is further shown in the results that children view domestic violence as a wrong and that men are the sole abusers. It further indicated that children do not have confidence in the courts; they are of the view that the courts are being too lenient on the abusers and they further said that more protection orders should be issued in order to prevent domestic violence. They blame this on non-responsiveness of the police when they are called and the kind of punishments the courts impose when the abuser is brought before court.The majority of children expressed their wish to see justice being done. The study found that children are of the view that there is little support from the police and the courts. The study concluded that children, acting voluntarily and with appropriate ethical safeguards, can make a significant contribution to both describing their experiences of domestic violence, and to indicating the standard of services and other interventions that they can trust and use.

Magister Psychologiae - MPsych<br>This study aimed at looking at children's perceptions of violence, exploring the experiences on child violence and lastly perceptions of children about intervention strategies in children's homes. The participants were sourced from the rehabilitation centres, at the children's homes in Khayelitsha. A manageable group of between 8 participants was used in the study. The participants were adolescents aged between 14-16 years old. The data was collected through individual interviews and was analysed in terms of thematic analysis. Each interview was tape recorded and transcribed. The ethics was taken into considerations from the onset process of recruitment, and for this reason the consent and assent letters were be provided and signed by both participants and care givers. Counselling support was provided for the participants. The common belief in this study was that the majority of the violence is found in the areas of their origin, which were the townships where they grew up. Generally, the participants held different beliefs on their sense of safety, which was related in the current area in which they live. The ultimate conclusions that have been drawn from the findings, suggest that children experience various difficulties and challenges, in their lives within children&rsquo;s home. Despite these challenges and difficulties that are encountered, participants appear to remain relatively contented with life in the home. Moreover, the participants also appeared to demonstrate a greater preference for living within the home over that of the previous living conditions from which they originate.<br>South Africa

This thesis examined the role and experiences of paramedics in Queensland when they encounter children exposed to domestic violence. These children, who may also be at risk of other types of abuse and neglect, often require support and sometimes protection. Paramedics are frequently the first healthcare professionals who respond to victims of domestic violence, including the children in the family. This multi-disciplinary study examined law, policy and social science, and conducted a survey exploring the role and experiences of paramedics, and identified ways to improve policy and practice, and respond better to children who are exposed to domestic violence.