Children’s Vulnerability and Support at School

Abstract

The story above was told by a mother abused by the child’s father.1 The events she was talking about happened at school when social workers were trying to enforce the court’s decision that her then seven-year-old daughter should have contact with the previously violent father. In this story, two professional groups are presented as almost the opposite when it comes to the protection and support to children who have experienced violence from a parent against the other. In this case, the social workers are described as the ones causing the child’s distress through their emphasis on contact between the child and the non-residential parent while the school staff — especially the school psychologist — are described as people who protect the child. This story also makes it clear that family law disputes may have a profound impact upon all children’s situation at school, both the children who are the objects of dispute and other children present at situations like these. The chapter is divided into two parts. The focus of the first part is on what the practices of social workers as well as school staff mean for children’s victimization at pre-school/school. The analysis both concerns the children exposed to violence who are the objects of family law disputes, and the victimization of other children. The second part outlines a framework for the development of different levels of support at pre-school and school to children exposed to domestic violence and family law disputes.