Citation

Davies L, Krane J. Crit. Soc. Policy 2006; 26(2): 412-425.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2006, SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/0261018306062592

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Recent recognition of the effects of domestic violence on children has given rise to calls for collaborative interventions between the arenas of child protection and domestic violence. Amidst this flurry of activity, little serious consideration has been given to the subjectivity of mothers who are simultaneously involved with child protection agencies and battered women's shelters. Without explicit engagement of mothers as subjects in their own right, collaboration has the potential to exacerbate their already trying circumstances. Our paper reviews the child protection context in which women as mothers are simultaneously relegated to the periphery of concern and called upon to act as mother protectors' in response to children at risk. We then explore mothering in the context of domestic violence and their relative invisibility in shelter settings. We conclude with a call to render women's experiences of domestic violence and mothering both visible and supported in these collaborative efforts.