NCJ Number
230500
Journal
Violence Against Women Volume: 16 Issue: 5 Dated: May 2010 Pages: 537-542
Date Published
May 2010
Length
6 pages
Annotation
This article briefly reviews responses and support given within four commentaries on Douglas and Walsh's research on the disconnect between the fields of domestic violence and child protection.
Abstract
Four commentators from diverse professional backgrounds accepted the identified disconnect (from research by Douglas and Walsh) between the domestic violence and child protection fields. The commentators did not perceive domestic violence or child protection as their core business fields, however, their main field was family law, the criminalization of women, youth work, or immigration and they were supporters of women binding them in the business of child protection and domestic violence. This article reviews their commentaries on Douglas and Walsh's research indicating several troubling trends in the treatment of battered mothers by the child protection system in Australia. The overall argument is that focusing on children to the exclusion of their primary caregiver (who is most often their mother) will seldom bring about protective outcomes for children. References