‘Social care told me I had to’: Empowerment and responsibilisation in the Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme

Hadjimatheou, Katerina (2022) '‘Social care told me I had to’: Empowerment and responsibilisation in the Domestic Violence Disclosure Scheme.' The British Journal of Criminology, 62 (2). pp. 320-336. ISSN 0007-0955

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Official URL: https://doi.org/10.1093/bjc/azab069

Abstract

Domestic Violence Disclosure Schemes (DVDS), recently introduced in many jurisdictions, aim to empower victim-survivors of domestic abuse by giving them access to information about their partner’s criminal history. This paper presents findings from the largest study of the police implementation of the first such scheme, introduced in the UK in 2014. It finds that the disclosure process is increasingly being shaped by a child protection agenda that makes victim-survivors responsible for protecting their children from the harms of domestic abuse. It examines tensions and dilemmas this raises for police seeking to safeguarding and empower victim-survivors, and draws on feminist ethical theory to develop a more nuanced understanding of the dynamics between the professional spheres of domestic abuse and child protection.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	domestic abuse; domestic violence; disclosure; child protection; social care; victims
Divisions:	Faculty of Social Sciences Faculty of Social Sciences > Sociology, Department of
SWORD Depositor:	Elements
Depositing User:	Elements
Date Deposited:	20 Jul 2021 11:53
Last Modified:	09 May 2022 14:29
URI:	http://repository.essex.ac.uk/id/eprint/30272

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