Women in the Middle: The Intersection of Domestic Violence and the Child Welfare System

In families affected by domestic violence, women are typically both the battered party and the parent most likely to be responsible for the caretaking of children. Although the domestic violence and child welfare service systems both work towards ending family violence, con icting goals re ect the historical tension between the woman-centered battered women's movement and the child-centered child welfare system. This article considers the overlap between the domestic violence and child welfare service systems and women's place at the intersection of these two spheres. Suggestions to improve policy and practice are made for social workers who serve battered women and children affected by family violence. he overlap of domestic violence and child maltreatment is well established, with numerous studies showing that child abuse and partner abuse are often co-occurring forms of family violence (Edleson, 1999a). Less recognized, however, is the disproportionate burden women bear at the intersection of the child welfare system and battered women's services. Domestic violence (also called intimate partner violence) most frequently describes violence perpetrated by men against their female partners and ex-partners (Humphreys, 1999). As typically both the battered party and the primary caregiver (Maxwell, 2000), a mother in a family affected by domestic violence is often subject to the competing demands for keeping herself and her child safe. Surprisingly, given the rates of co-occurrence and populations served, the child welfare system and battered women's movement often operate in different spheres, emphasizing different values and philosophies. Although both are designed to protect women and children, the two systems at times work at cross-purposes, an opposition that further victimizes women. New policy and practice methods should consider the intersection of these two systems and develop ways to support women and children from a strengths-based, holistic perspective that does not ignore the gendered dynamic of both systems.