Domestic violence and child protection: towards a collaborative approach across the two service sectors

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    26 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    Domestic violence continues to be one of the most significant aspects of child abuse and neglect in Australia. However, the children are not well served by either child protection or domestic violence service sectors, which continue to operate as segregated, tertiary response systems. This paper reports on research that examined bridges and barriers to effective collaboration between child protection and domestic violence services in responding to children affected by domestic violence. The differing conceptions and responses of the workers from each service sector, in relation to children and families affected by domestic violence, is discussed in the light of gaps in service provision in both sectors. In doing so, areas of common ground for more effective collaboration between these service sectors are identified, including the prioritizing of emotional and psychological abuse, supporting and empowering abused mothers, strengthening the mother-child relationship, and supporting children and families across a continuum of service provision, particularly in the medium- to long-term. Understanding each other and finding common ground across the two service sectors is paramount to improving how each responds to children and families affected by domestic violence.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)421-431
    Number of pages11
    JournalChild and Family Social Work
    Volume19
    Issue number4
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 1 Nov 2014

    Keywords

    • Child protection
    • Children
    • Domestic violence
    • Service responses
    • Social workers

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