Domestic Violence, Family Law and School

Domestic Violence, Family Law and School

Also by Maria Eriksson FÖRÄLDRASKAPETS POLITIK. Från 1900-tal till 2000-tal (co-editor) BARN SOM UPPLEVER VÅLD: Nordisk forskning och praktik (editor) BARN, VÅLD, FAMILJERÄTT OCH KVINNOJOURSARBETE BARNS RÖSTER OM VÅLD ATT TOLKA OCH FÖRSTÅ (co-editor) I SKUGGAN AV PAPPA. FAMILJERÄTTEN OCH HANTERINGEN AV FÄDERS VÅLD MÄNS VÅLD MOT KVINNOR OCH BARNS UPPLEVELSER: INTERVENTIONER, KUNSKAPER OCH UTVECKLINGSBEHOV (co-author) NÄR BARN SOM UPPLEVT VÅLD MÖTER SOCIALTJÄNSTEN OM BARNS PERSPEKTIV, DELAKTIGHET OCH GILTIGGÖRANDE (co-author) TACKLING MEN S VIOLENCE IN FAMILIES: Nordic Issues and Dilemmas (co-editor) Also by Elisabet Näsman JAG; DEN ANDRE. Spelet mellan dej och mej och dom utstötta (co-author) BARNS RÖSTER OM VÅLD ATT TOLKA OCH FÖRSTÅ (co-editor) NÄR BARN SOM UPPLEVT VÅLD MÖTER SOCIALTJÄNSTEN OM BARNS PERSPEKTIV, DELAKTIGHET OCH GILTIGGÖRANDE (co-author) SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP & VARDAGSERFARENHET. Teori, praktik, etik (co-editor) STÄMPLINGSPROCESSEN (co-author) MAMMA, PAPPA, JOBB. Föräldrar och barn om arbetets villkor (co-author) ETIK I FORSKNINGENS VARDAG (co-editor) BARNFATTIGDOM. Om bemötande och metoder ur ett barnperspektiv (co-author) FRÅN SPARGRIS TILL KONTOKORT. Barndomens ekonomiska SPIRALTRAPPA (co-editor) MAMMA PAPPA UTAN JOBB (co-author) ELEVVÅRD TILL VEMS BÄSTA (co-author) FÖRÄLDRARS ARBETE & BARNS VILLKOR (co-author)

Domestic Violence, Family Law and School Children s Right to Participation, Protection and Provision Maria Eriksson Mälardalen University, Sweden Linnéa Bruno Uppsala University, Sweden and Elisabet Näsman Uppsala University, Sweden

Maria Eriksson, Linnéa Bruno and Elisabet Näsman 2013 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2013 978-1-137-28304-7 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No portion of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, Saffron House, 6 10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. The authors have asserted their rights to be identified as the authors of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. First published 2013 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN Palgrave Macmillan in the UK is an imprint of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS. Palgrave Macmillan in the US is a division of St Martin s Press LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010. Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world. Palgrave and Macmillan are registered trademarks in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries. ISBN 978-1-349-44886-9 ISBN 978-1-137-28305-4 (ebook) DOI 10.1057/9781137283054 This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources. Logging, pulping and manufacturing processes are expected to conform to the environmental regulations of the country of origin. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress. Typeset by MPS Limited, Chennai, India.

Contents List of Figures and Tables Acknowledgements List of Abbreviations vi vii viii 1 Domestic Violence and Family Law Disputes on the School Agenda 1 2 Children and Domestic Violence 17 3 Domestic Violence and Family Law 27 4 Social Issues at Pre-School and School 45 5 School in a Complex Field of Policy and Practice 60 6 The Impact of Family Law Proceedings 74 7 Children s Vulnerability and Support at School 89 8 Pre-School and School Staff Strategies 107 9 Privilege and Marginalization 127 10 Children s Rights to Participation, Protection and Provision 142 Appendix A: Empirical studies 154 Notes 158 References 161 Index 182 v

List of Figures and Tables Figures 7.1 Child and adult positions 102 8.1 Pre-school and school staff strategies 111 Tables 6.1 Hand-over arranged at pre-school/school premises due to domestic violence (frequency and per cent) 81 6.2 Mediation of information between parents due to domestic violence (frequency and per cent) 81 6.3 Children attending two pre-schools or schools (frequency and per cent) 85 7.1 Children talking about domestic violence at pre-school/school (per cent) 92 7.2 A parent without right to contact seeking out the child at pre-school/school (per cent) 93 7.3 Violence or threats from a parent against the other at pre-school/school (frequency and per cent) 94 7.4 Staff subjected to threats or violence by parents or other adult next of kin (per cent) 95 A.1 Informants working in pre-school 154 A.2 Informants working in school 155 vi

Acknowledgements We wish to thank everyone who has made this book possible by participation in research projects or through comments and suggestions on different versions of the text. Special thanks goes to Keith Pringle for contributing to the improvement of the manuscript by engaging in constructive dialogue about broader themes and key perspectives, as well as careful consideration of important details. The research project Children whose father is violent to the mother encounter the family law: Vulnerable children as social actors in investigations regarding custody, residence or contact was funded by the Swedish Crime Victim Fund and the Swedish Council for Working Life and Social Research (FAS). In addition to authors Eriksson and Näsman, the research team consisted of Gunilla Dahlkild-Öhman at Uppsala University and Jeanette Sundhall at Göteborg University. The project Family law proceedings and decisions in a school perspective focusing children at risk: A pilot study was funded by the Children s Welfare Foundation Sweden and the Swedish Council for Working Life and Social Research (FAS). vii

List of Abbreviations BO BRÅ CAFCASS Dir. FB FSR GU HMICA LU LVU NACCC NSPCC Ofsted ONS Prop. SCB SOU SoL UNCRC Barnombudsmannen [Children s Ombudsman] Brottsförebyggande Rådet [Swedish Council for Crime Prevention] Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service Kommittédirektiv [Parliamental commi ttee instructions] Föräldrabalken [Parental Code] Familjerättssocionomernas Riksförening [Association of Family Law Social Workers in Sweden] Göteborgs universitet [University of Gothenburg] HM Inspectorate of Court Administration Lagutskottet [Civil Law Committee] Lagen med särskilda bestämmelser om vård av unga [Special Regulations of the Care of Young People Act] National Association of Child Contact Centres National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children Office for Standards in Education, Childrens Services and Skills Office for National Statistics Proposition [Governmental White Paper] Statistiska Centralbyrån [Statistics Sweden] Statens Offentliga Utredningar [Swedish Government Official Reports] Socialtjänstlagen [Social Services Act] United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child viii