Citation

Kotzé E, Hulme T, Geldenhuys T, Weingarten K. Fam. Process 2013; 52(3): 355-367.

Affiliation

Department of Human Development and Counselling, University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2013, Family Process Institute, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/famp.12010

PMID

24033235

Abstract

In the territory of violence and despair, hope is rare. Recent work on hope has shifted attention from hope as a feeling to hope as a practice that people can do together. This case report of a family exposed to domestic violence highlights the role played by a South African police officer in the mother's actions to separate from the context of violence. As a witness to the violence, the police officer acted from an ethic of justice and an ethic of compassion. Outsider witnessing of a counseling session resulted in the recruiting of a community of acknowledgement for the mother, the police officer, and an Assistant Commissioner of Police. Listening carefully and doing hope together gave rise to alliances against practices of violence. As a step of accountability, the authors used reflexive practices to question their responses and to avoid colonizing practices.

Language: en