Children who experience domestic violence – dilemmas in social work practice

Abstract

ABSTRACTThis article presents an analysis of social workers’ discourse about children who experience domestic violence (DV). The data consist of interviews with 12 employees within family counselling and child welfare services in 4 different regions of Norway. The question asked is: How are dominant discourses reflected in informants’ descriptions of children who experience DV and what are the consequences for social workers’ practice? The analysis shows that the informants encounter a variety of ethical and practical dilemmas in cases where children experience DV. Significant differences were found between how social workers discursively expressed their ideals and how they acted in practice. When helpers spoke generally about children and violence they employed the discourse of the competent child and defined violence more broadly. However, when helpers moved from a position of looking in from the outside to that of experiencing a situation, they employed a discourse of physical and specific violence, and the traditional discourse about children as vulnerable was dominant. We discuss the available positions, possible dilemmas, paradoxes and challenges highlighted by social workers’ discursive practice.