Faculty Publications

Social Worker Interventions In Situations Of Domestic Violence: What We Can Learn From Survivors Personal Narratives?

Document Type

Article

Keywords

Domestic violence, social work, women

Journal/Book/Conference Title

British Journal of Social Work

Volume

42

Issue

7

First Page

1354

Last Page

1370

Abstract

Social workers are an integral provider in the statutory support offered to women experiencing domestic violence. This paper uses information obtained from women's personal narratives to examine this social worker-client relationship in situations of domestic violence. Embracing a feminist standpoint epistemology and focusing on the women's experiences, it is evident that many of the women expressed dissatisfaction with the way they were treated by social workers. Threats to remove the children from the home and victim blaming were among the tactics described. The parallel between such reported forms of coercion employed by social workers and those used by the abuser are striking. The findings suggest a lack of a favourable climate to ensure the safety of the woman and her family through the provision of family-centred care and a need to build more effective and supportive relationships with women experiencing domestic violence. Implications for social work practice are also discussed. © 2011 The Author. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The British Association of Social Workers. All rights reserved.

Department

Department of Social Work

Original Publication Date

10-1-2012

DOI of published version

10.1093/bjsw/bcr137

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