Abstract
Purpose
A significant portion of child welfare cases in Canada involve domestic violence (DV). This study illuminates survivors experiences with child welfare services (CWS) in safeguarding themselves and their children from DV.
Methods
Employing narrative analysis, this work draws on in-depth interviews with 16 diverse women who endured near lethal DV and who shared 32 distinct stories of involvement with CWS. Through iterative readings of survivors’ accounts, patterns and variations in survivors’ experiences with CWS were identified and summarized in the form of reconstructed narratives.
Results
The narrative DV recognized reveals the transformative potential of CWS associated with workers’ recognition of DV-related risks and harms and with CWS actions taken to connect survivor mothers with supports and resources in a manner that protected their autonomy and agency. Unfortunately, more common narratives described survivors’ dissatisfaction with CWS and their negative safety outcomes. DV unseen emphasizes the disconnect between survivors’ needs and their experiences of CWS responses that occur when there is a lack of recognition and understanding the dynamics of DV. Exacerbated challenges with family law involvement characterizes ways in which involvement with the family law system leads to disengagement and withdrawal of CWS support and may increase potential harm to survivors and children.
Conclusions
Findings underscore the importance for CWS of recognizing the dynamics of DV and using collaborative, survivor-centered approaches to support adult and child survivor safety. They also emphasize the need to develop models of service to bridge the current disconnect between the CWS and family law systems.