Women's abuse of their children in the context on domestic violence: reflection from women's accounts |
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| Authors: | Dominique Damant,Simon Lapierre&dagger ,Catherine Lebossé &Dagger ,Sylvie Thibault§ ,Geneviè ve Lessard¶ ,Louise Hamelin-Brabant,Chantal Lavergne&dagger &dagger , André e Fortin&Dagger &Dagger |
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| Affiliation: | Universitéde Montréal, succursale Centre-ville, Montreal,;School of Social Work, McGill University, Montreal,;Centre de recherche interdisciplinaire sur la violence familiale et la violence faite aux femmes, UniversitéLaval, Quebec,;Centre de recherche interdisciplinaire sur la violence familiale et la violence faite aux femmes, UniversitéLaval, Quebec,;École de service social, UniversitéLaval, Quebec,;Facultédes sciences infirmières, UniversitéLaval, Quebec,;Institut de recherche sur le développement social des jeunes, Montreal,;Département de psychologie, Universitéde Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada |
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| Abstract: | This paper draws upon the findings of a study that looked at women's experiences of mothering in the context of co-occurrence of domestic violence and child abuse, and considers the issue of women's violence towards children – while acknowledging the fact that men are the main perpetrators of violence towards women and children in these families. The paper first explores the relationship between women's victimization and women's violence, and suggests that women's abuse of their children can be seen as a consequence of their own experiences of domestic violence. The findings nonetheless suggest that abused women have agency, and therefore have responsibilities when they chose to use violence towards their children. The paper also considers the feelings of guilt and blame that tend to arise in these circumstances. Implications for research, policy and practice are identified. |
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| Keywords: | child abuse domestic violence mothering |
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