Best Practice Approaches: Child Protection and Violence Against Women Training for Child Protection Workers

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Best Practice ApproachesChild Protection and
Violence Against Women Training for Child
Protection Workers
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Workshop Objectives
There are 7 broad workshop objectives,
reflected in the 7 workshop modules.
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CREATING CONTEXT MODULE 1 Understanding
Violence Against Women and Child
ProtectionMODULE 2 Mothering In The Context Of
Violence Against Women MODULE 3
Understanding Violence Against Women And
Their Children
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APPROACHES MODULE 4 Determining A Response
To Woman Abuse And Child Protection
MODULE 5 Applying a Women-Centred Approach
to Child Protection Investigations MODULE 6
Effective Ways to Protect Children and Youth
MODULE 7 Building Common Ground Linking
Protection and Safety
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MODULE 1 Creating Context Understanding
Violence Against Women and Child Protection
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Personal Learning Objectives
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Personal Safety

• The materials that will be explored may be highly
  charged.
• Take care of your own well-being be mindful of
  others in the training.
• active listening
• respectful communication
• consideration for differing perspectives
• honour confidentiality

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Module 1 Learning Objectives

• Participants will
• Feel safe to explore challenging concepts and
  practices related to child protection within the
  context of violence against women in
  relationships
• Understand rationale for development of the Best
  Practices Approaches and training
• Be introduced to the Best Practice Approaches

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Best Practice ApproachesBackground

• Developed by MCFD in response to concerns
  expressed by
• Child Protection Workers
• Front-line Workers and Clinicians delivering
  services to women experiencing abuse and children
  affected by witnessing abuse
• An example of the concerns expressed was removing
  children while they were residing with their
  mother at a transition house.

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Best Practice ApproachesBackground

• 2000
• Policy Paper outlining these issues submitted to
  MCFD by Provincial Anti-Violence Organizations
• BC Association of Specialized Victim Assistance
  Counselling Programs
• BC/Yukon Society of Transition Houses
• BC Womens Hospitals Provincial Woman Abuse
  Response Program
• BC Institute Against Family Violence

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Best Practice ApproachesBackground

• Developing A Dialogue A Preliminary Discussion
  Paper on Child Protection Issues in Cases
  Involving Violence Against Women and Children
• www.endingviolence.org

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Best Practice ApproachesBackground

• 2000
• Meeting between provincial anti-violence
  organizations and Director of Child Protection at
  MCFD
• Agreement with the Directors recommendation
• Collaborate with MCFD to jointly develop BEST
  PRACTICE APPROACHES for child protection
  interventions in violence against women cases.

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Best Practice ApproachesBackground

• 2001 Working Group
• Anti-Violence Experts
• Child Protection Experts
• Ministry of Children and Family Development
• Ministry of Community, Aboriginal and Womens
  Services
• Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General
• 2001 to 2004 Best Practice Approaches
• Developed and made available to child protection
  workers

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Best Practice ApproachesBackground

• 2006 2008
• Best Practice Approaches Training
• MCFD allocated resources to develop training
• Opportunity for child protection workers to
• Learn about Best Practice Approaches
• Learn how to apply Best Practice Approaches

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Best Practice ApproachesBackground

• Questions/Discussion

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Violence Against WomenDefining the Issue

• Any act of gender-based violence that results
  in physical, sexual or psychological harm or
  suffering to women.
• United Nations Declaration on the
• Elimination of Violence Against Women

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Violence Against WomenDefining the Issue

• A pattern of intentionally coercive and violent
  behavior toward an individual with whom there is
  or has been an intimate relationship.
• These behaviours can be used to establish control
  of an individual and can include physical and
  sexual abuse psychological abuse with verbal
  intimidation, progressive social isolation, or
  deprivation and economic control.
• Domestic Violence in Women
• El-Bayoumi, Borum, Haywood
• Medical Clinics of North America

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Violence Against WomenDefining the Issue

• Abusive Tactics Include BUT are not limited to
• Verbal
• Threats, yelling, insults
• Mental
• Using tactics to convince her that she is crazy
  or stupid
• Emotional
• Using guilt and other strategies to make her
  think that shes a bad mother/partner/person.
  Ignoring her or using jealousy to control her.
• Sexual
• Preventing choice about sex, birth control or STI
  protection. Withholding sexual affection

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Violence Against WomenDefining the Issue

• Physical
• Hitting, choking, kicking, use of weapons
• Financial
• Controlling the decisions about finances, not
  allowing her to access money or bank accounts
• Spiritual
• Belittling her religion, keeping her from
  practicing her faith
• Cultural
• Belittling her culture, racial insults
• Social
• Isolating her from friends or family, controlling
  her whereabouts and who she can associate with

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Violence Against WomenDefining the Issue

• Other forms of inequality and oppression which
  include poverty, colonization, racism,
  heterosexism, and ableism intersect with gender
  to
• shape experiences of women in abusive
  relationships
• reduce appropriate services
• increase risks

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Violence Against WomenDefining the Issue

• The impact is significantisolation,
  degradation of self, fear, and loss of
  autonomywhich further entrap women in the
  relationship.

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Violence Against WomenDefining the Issue

• The greatest danger women face is when they
  try to leave, or otherwise challenge their
  partners authority.

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Violence Against WomenGlobal Issues

• Human rights violations internationally
  perpetrated differently against women
• Women represent the overwhelming majority of
  abuse survivors.
• Power inequalities and dynamics within gender
  relations results in abuse that
  disproportionately affects women.

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Violence Against WomenGlobal Issues

• The many manifestations of gender based violence
  point to
• the significant role that social norms, gender
  roles, and social and political institutions play
  in legitimizing and therefore perpetuating woman
  abuse, in addition to contributing to womens
  vulnerability to abuse.

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Violence Against WomenHow Common Is It?

• Research on rates of woman abuse has played a
  vital role in establishing the seriousness of the
  issue worldwide, although results do not
  adequately reflect the complex nature of woman
  abuse.
• Researchers recommend complementing quantitative
  studies with research that looks at the
  experiences of victims.

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Violence Against WomenHow Common Is It?

• AT LEAST
• One in three women will experience abuse in an
  'intimate' relationship at some point in their
  adult lives.
• One in ten women is experiencing abuse during any
  given year.
• Violence Against Women Survey.
• 1993, Statistics Canada Ottawa.

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Violence Against WomenHow Common Is It?

• Thus, in an average year in Canada, it is
  estimated that about 200,000 women are
  threatened, slapped, kicked, punched, choked,
  beaten, or sexually assaulted by their partners.

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Violence Against WomenHow Common Is It?

• Over 2.6 million Canadian women have
  experienced physical or sexual assault.
• Johnson, H. (1996)
• Dangerous Domains Violence Against Women In
  Canada

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Violence Against WomenHow Common Is It?

• More than twice as many women as men reported
  being beaten
• 5 times as many women as men reported being
  choked
• Almost twice as many women as men reported having
  a gun or knife used against them
• More than 6 times as many women as men reported
  being sexually assaulted
• 1999 General Social Survey on Spousal Violence -
  Canada

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Violence Against WomenHow Common Is It?

• 98 of sexual assaults and 86 of violent crimes
  are committed by men
• Women constitute 98 of spousal violence victims
  of sexual assault, kidnapping or hostage taking
• 80 of victims of criminal harassment are women
  while 90 of the accused are men
• 1999 General Social Survey on Spousal Violence -
  Canada

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Violence Against WomenHow Common Is It?

• Women victimized in greater numbers, severity of
  violence greater
• 65 assaulted more than once
• 26 assaulted more than 10 times
• 40 of women compared to 13 of men physically
  injured as a result of the violence
• Women 5 times more likely than men to require
  medical attention as a result of the violence
• 1999 General Social Survey on Spousal Violence -
  Canada

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Violence Against WomenImpact on Children and
Youth

• Children and youth witness woman abuse if they
  see it, are used by the violent parent, hear the
  violence, or experience its aftermath such as the
  arrest or hospitalization of a parent.
• Edleson, J. (1999)
• Childrens Witnessing of Adult Domestic Violence

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Violence Against WomenImpact on Children and
Youth

• Can witness or be impacted by woman abuse by
• Seeing a mother assaulted or demeaned
• Hearing loud conflict and violence
• Seeing the aftermath (e.g., injuries)
• Learning about what happened to a mother

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Violence Against WomenImpact on Children and
Youth

• Can witness or be impacted by woman abuse by
• Being used by an abusive parent as part of the
  abuse
• Seeing a father abuse his new partner when they
  visit him on weekends
• Being denied what is owed them for child support

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Violence Against WomenImpact on Children and
Youth

• May be used by an abusive parent by
• Claiming that the childrens and/or youths bad
  behaviour is the reason for the violence
• Encouraging the children and/or youth to abuse
  the other parent
• Threatening violence against the children and/or
  their pets

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Violence Against WomenImpact on Children and
Youth

• Engaging the child and/or youth in negative
  discussion about their mother
• Prolonged custody and access proceedings when
  abuser has previously shown little interest in
  the children
• Holding the children hostage or abducting them in
  an effort to punish the victim or gain compliance
• Baker, Jaffe and Moore (2001)
• Understanding the Effects of Domestic Violence

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Violence Against WomenImpact on Children and
Youth

• Prevalence of children or youth who witness abuse
• 40 and 80 of children in families where
  violence against women occurs are exposed to the
  abuse either by seeing it or by overhearing it.
• 3 to 5 children or youth in every Canadian school
  classroom have witnessed their mother being
  assaulted.

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Violence Against WomenImpact on Children and
Youth

• Those who witness physical violence to their
  mother usually also witness psychological abuse
• Between 1999 and 2004, children of approximately
  34,500 BC women were exposed to woman abuse
• On any given day in Canada about 2500 children
  live with mothers in shelters for abused women

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Violence Against WomenWomen-Centred Approach

• Providing women-centred services is fundamental
  to womens empowerment and safety.
• This approach is not in conflict with a child
  protection approach.
• Recognizes womens safety is an important factor
  in the safety and protection of their children.

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Violence Against WomenWomen-Centred Approach

• Key Aspects
• recognize and build on a womans strengths
• recognize womens safety strategies
• develop a trusting and respectful relationship
• respect her ability to make choices within legal
  limits
• provide services that are accessible from her
  perspective

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Violence Against WomenWomen-Centred Approach

• respect cultural diversity
• recognize that all forms of marginalization
  affect womens experiences and may limit options
• counter stereotypes about violence and specific
  groups
• provide interpretation services that allow safe
  discussion about her experiences

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Violence Against WomenWomen-Centred Approach

• support solutions that respect and account for
  womens cultural and religious values
• build resources with women and the larger
  community
• engage in a collaborative approach with
  anti-violence womens organizations and other
  systems

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Violence Against WomenWomen-Centred Approach

• A womans past may influence the way she
  interacts with child protection services
• Removal from her family - child protection
  services, residential schools or foster care.
• Experiencing further abuse after removal.
• State harassment, police brutality, investigation
  and interrogation - particularly immigrant and
  refugee women, aboriginal women, poor women,
  women who use alcohol or drugs, and women in the
  sex trade.

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Violence Against WomenWomen-Centred Approach

• Past experiences can lead to mistrust and fear of
  people in positions of power and authority
• This mistrust and fear should be understood in
  the context of womens lives and social history.

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Violence Against WomenWomen-Centred Approach

• Reframe judgements
• uncooperative
• non-compliant
• difficult

• using her experience to guide her decisions and
  protect her from further harm

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Violence Against WomenWomen-Centred Approach

• If a child protection workers intervention leads
  to the decision that the non-abusing woman is not
  able to protect her children from the abuser
• Understand a womans reasons for returning to or
  remaining with an abusive partner
• Do not blame a woman if it appears that she has
  chosen her partner over her children
• Do not punish the woman by withholding access to
  her children

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Violence Against WomenWomen-Centred Approach

• Continue to work with the woman to help her
  create a safe environment for herself and her
  children
• Develop a service plan independent of her
  partner, ensure that she is not treated as the
  perpetrator.
• Offer anti-violence community services
• should not be offered in a way that is coercive
  or punitive - e.g. a woman will be allowed access
  to her children if she attends mandatory
  counselling sessions.