Women with Disabilities experiencing Domestic Violence and Abuse: Child Safety Focused Practice with Person-Centred Principles

Abstract

The disability community experiences complex and unique challenges and vulnerabilities in relation to both domestic violence and child protection and welfare. Notably, women with disabilities are significantly more likely to experience domestic violence and abuse (DVA) than women without disabilities. At the intersection of disability, DVA and child protection and welfare (CPW) however, professional intervention can be experienced by workers as both complex and contradictory. While intervention may involve rigorous, child safety focussed assessment of the fitness and protective capacity of the mother who is the victim of DVA, this process can radically augment feelings of powerlessness, anguish and fear for mothers caught in an abusive situation through no fault of their own. Responding to these complexities and contradictions, this article presents a focussed commentary on the literature on child protection and welfare work with women with disabilities experiencing DVA. Specific consideration will be given to how the principles and practices of person-centred theory can optimise compassionate, child safety focussed practice. Methods: Through a person-centred theoretical lens, we identify and critically review the empirical evidence at the intersection of disability and DVA, locating this critique in feminist ethics of care. Through an inductive reasoning approach, three core themes deemed most indicative of the key messages extracted from across the body of literature were identified. Findings: The three themes of incompatibility, compatibility, and specific concerns related to disability and DVA suggest that child protection and welfare practitioners working at the intersection of disability and domestic violence and abuse are having to navigate and negotiate complex territory. It is also clear however that the principles at the heart of person-centred practice have an important role and potential in supporting practice that can respond to the unique needs and circumstances of this particular service user group. Implications/Conclusions: There is clear potential for person-centred practice to support child protection practice at the intersection of DVA. Person-centred principles, for instance, can help workers in assessment and interviewing processes by helping them to embed qualities such as presence, empathy and congruence which support relationship-building and collaborative working practices with women with disabilities. Person-centred principles may also contribute to overcoming barriers to quality practice such as reducing bias around DVA and disability, and preventing overly routinized and procedural practice.