Skip to main content

Children’s embodied experience of living with domestic violence: “I’d go into my panic, and shake, really bad”

Subjectivity volume 9, pages 399–419 (2016)Cite this article

Abstract

Children who experience domestic violence are often described in academic and professional literature as passive victims, whose ‘exposure’ to violence and abuse at home leaves them psychologically damaged, socially impaired, inarticulate, cognitively ‘concrete’ and emotionally ‘incompetent’. Whilst we recognise the importance of understanding the hurt, disruption and damage that domestic violence can cause, we also explore alternative possible ways of talking about and thinking about the lives of children who have experienced domestic violence. We report on interviews and drawings with 27 UK children, using interpretive analysis to explore their capacity for agency and resistance. We explore the paradoxical interplay of children’s acceptance and resistance to coercive control, paying specific attention to embodied experience and use of space. We consider how children articulate their experiences of pain and coercion, how they position themselves as embodied and affective subjects, and challenge Scarry’s (The Body in Pain, OUP, Oxford, 1985) suggestion that embodied pain and violence are inexpressible.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.

Access options

Buy single article

Instant access to the full article PDF.

USD 39.95

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Figure 1
Figure 2

References

  • Akrich, M. and Pasveer, B. (2004) Embodiment and Disembodiment in childbirth narratives. Body & Society 10(2–3): 63–84. doi:10.1177/1357034X04042935.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Alexander, J.H., Callaghan, J.E.M., Fellin, L.C. and Sixsmith, J. (2016). Children’s corporeal agency and use of space in situations of domestic violence. In J. Horton & B. Evans (Eds.), Geographies of Children and Young People. Play, Recreation, Health and Well Being. Singapore: Springer.

  • Bair-Merritt, M.H., Blackstone, M. and Feudtner, C. (2006) Physical health outcomes of childhood exposure to intimate partner violence: a systematic review. Pediatrics 117(2): e278–90. doi:10.1542/peds.2005-1473.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baldry, A.C. (2003) Bullying in schools and exposure to domestic violence. Child Abuse & Neglect 27(7): 713–732. doi:10.1016/S0145-2134(03)00114-5.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Black, D.S., Sussman, S. and Unger, J.B. (2010) A further look at the intergenerational transmission of violence: Witnessing interparental violence in emerging adulthood. Journal of Interpersonal Violence 25(6): 1022–42. doi:10.1177/0886260509340539.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blackman, L. (2008) The Body: Key Concepts. New York: Bloomsbury Academic.

    Google Scholar 

  • Blackman, L., Cromby, J., Hook, D., Papadopoulos, D. and Walkerdine, V. (2008) Creating subjectivities [Editorial]. Subjectivity, 22: 1–27. doi:10.1057/sub.2008.8.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bogat, G.A., DeJonghe, E., Levendosky, A.A, Davidson, W.S. and von Eye, A. (2006) Trauma symptoms among infants exposed to intimate partner violence. Child Abuse & Neglect 30(2): 109–25. doi:10.1016/j.chiabu.2005.09.002.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bourget, D., Grace, J. and Whitehurst, L. (2007) A review of maternal and paternal filicide. The Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law 35(1): 74–82.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bridger, L. (2013). Seeing and telling households: A case for photo elicitation and graphic elicitation in qualitative research. Graduate Journal of Social Science 10(2): 106–131.

    Google Scholar 

  • Callaghan, J.E.M. (2015) Mothers and children? Representations of mothers in research on children’s outcomes in domestic violence. Psychology of Women Section Review (16): 2–5.

    Google Scholar 

  • Callaghan, J.E.M. and Alexander, J.H. (2015) Understanding Agency and Resistance Strategies: Children’s Experiences of Domestic Violence Report. Northampton. Retrieved from www.unars.co.uk.

  • Callaghan, J.E.M., Alexander, J.H., Sixsmith, J. and Fellin, L.C. (2016a) Beyond “witnessing”: Children’s experiences of coercive control in domestic violence and abuse. Journal of Interpersonal Violence. doi:10.1177/0886260515618946.

    Google Scholar 

  • Callaghan, J.E.M., Alexander, J.H., Sixsmith, J. and Fellin, L.C. (2016b) Children’s experiences of domestic violence and abuse: siblings’ accounts of relational coping. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry. doi:10.1177/1359104515620250.

    Google Scholar 

  • Callaghan, J.E.M. and Clark, J. (2007) Feminist Theory and Conflict. In K. Ratele (Ed.), Intergroup Relations: A South African Perspective. Cape Town: Juta.

    Google Scholar 

  • Callaghan, J.E.M., Fellin, L.C., Alexander, J., Mavrou, S. and Papathanassiou, M. (2016). Children’s experiences of domestic violence: embodiment, context and emotional competence. Psychology and Violence.

  • Callaghan, J.E.M., Gambo, Y. and Fellin, L.C. (2015) Hearing the silences: Adult Nigerian women’s accounts of “early marriages.” Feminism & Psychology. doi:10.1177/0959353515590691.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cooper, J. and Vetere, A. (2008) Domestic Violence and Family Safety: A Systemic Approach to Working with Violence in Families. Chichester: Wiley and Sons.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dallos, R. and Vetere, A. (2012) Systems theory, family attachments and processes of triangulation: Does the concept of triangulation offer a useful bridge? Journal of Family Therapy 34(2): 117–113. doi:10.1111/j.1467-6427.2011.00554.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Denzin, N.K. (2001) Interpretive Interactionism. Newbury Park: Sage.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Devaney, J. (2008) Chronic child abuse and domestic violence: Children and families with long-term and complex needs. Child & Family Social Work 13(4): 443–453. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2206.2008.00559.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dobash, R.E. and Dobash, R.P. (1992) Women, violence and social change. New York: Routledge.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Ehrensaft, M.K., Cohen, P., Brown, J., Smailes, E., Chen, H. and Johnson, J.G. (2003) Intergenerational transmission of partner violence: A 20-year prospective study. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 71(4): 741–753. doi:10.1037/0022-006X.71.4.741.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eriksson, M. and Näsman, E. (2012) Interviews with children exposed to violence. Children & Society 26(1): 63–73. doi:10.1111/j.1099-0860.2010.00322.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fargas-Malet, M., McSherry, D., Larkin, E. and Robinson, C. (2010) Research with children: Methodological issues and innovative techniques. Journal of Early Childhood Research 8(2): 175–192. doi:10.1177/1476718X09345412.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gabb, J. and Singh, R. (2015) The uses of emotion maps in research and clinical practice with families and couples: Methodological innovation and critical inquiry. Family Process 54(1): 185–197.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hester, M. (2000) Child protection and domestic violence. In J. Hanmer and C. Itzin (Eds.), Home truths about domestic violence: Feminist influences on policy and practice. London: Routledge, pp. 96–112.

    Google Scholar 

  • Houghton, C. (2015) Young people’s perspectives on participatory ethics: Agency, power and impact in domestic abuse research and policy-making. Child Abuse Review 24: 235–248. doi:10.1002/car.2407.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jouriles, E.N., McDonald, R., Slep, A., Heyman, R. and Garrido, E. (2008) Child abuse in the context of domestic violence: Prevalence, explanations, and practice implication. Violence and Victims 23: 221–235. doi:10.1891/0886-6708.23.2.221.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Katz, L.F., Hessler, D.M. and Annest, A. (2007) Domestic violence, emotional competence, and child adjustment. Social Development 16(3): 513–538. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9507.2007.00401.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lee, W.L. (2005) On the (im)materiality of violence: Subjects, bodies, and the experience of pain. Feminist Theory 6(3): 277–295. doi:10.1177/1464700105057364.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lee, W.L. (2012) Never merely “there.” In R. Arp (Ed.), Tattoos – Philosophy for Everyone: I Ink, Therefore I Am. London: Wiley, pp. 151–165.

  • Lepistö, S., Luukkaala, T. and Paavilainen, E. (2011) Witnessing and experiencing domestic violence: A descriptive study of adolescents. Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences 25(1): 70–80. doi:10.1111/j.1471-6712.2010.00792.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Logan, D.E. and Graham-Bermann, S.A. (1999). Emotion expression in children exposed to family violence. Journal of Emotional Abuse 1(3): 39–64. doi:10.1300/J135v01n03.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mallett, S. (2004) Understanding home: A critical review of the literature. Sociological Review 52(1): 64–89.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Meltzer, H., Doos, L., Vostanis, P., Ford, T. and Goodman, R. (2009) The mental health of children who witness domestic violence. Child and Family Social Work 14(4): 491–501. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2206.2009.00633.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Morris, A., Hegarty, K. and Humphreys, C. (2012) Ethical and safe: Research with children about domestic violence. Research Ethics 8(2): 125–139. doi:10.1177/1747016112445420.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moyers, B. (1991) Facing Hate, Bill Moyers in conversation with Elie Wiesel. USE: Moyers and Company. Retrieved from http://billmoyers.com/2012/04/19/moyers-moment-1991-elie-wiesel-on-if-humanity-is-good-or-evil/.

  • Mullender, A., Hague, G., Imam, U.F., Kelly, L., Malos, E. and Regan, L. (2003) Children’s Perspectives on Domestic Violence. London: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Øverlien, C. (2009) Children exposed to domestic violence: Conclusions from the literature and challenges ahead. Journal of Social Work 10(1): 80–97. doi:10.1177/1468017309350663.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Øverlien, C. (2011) Abused women with children or children of abused women? A study of conflicting perspectives at women’s refuges in Norway. Child and Family Social Work 16(1): 71–80. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2206.2010.00715.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Øverlien, C. (2013) The children of patriarchal terrorism. Journal of Family Violence 28(3): 277–287. doi:10.1007/s10896-013-9498-9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Øverlien, C. and Hydén, M. (2009) Children’ s actions when experiencing domestic violence. Childhood 16(4): 479–496.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pascal, C. and Bertram, T. (2009) Listening to young citizens: the struggle to make real a participatory paradigm in research with young children. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal 17(2): 249–262. doi:10.1080/13502930902951486.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Scarry, E. (1985) The Body in Pain. Oxford: OUP.

    Google Scholar 

  • Siegel, J.P. (2013) Breaking the links in intergenerational violence: An emotional regulation perspective. Family Process 52(2), 163–78. doi:10.1111/famp.12023.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Skansvors, L. (2009). Ethics in child research: Children’s agency and researchers’ “Ethical Radar.” Childhoods Today 3(1): 1–22.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stark, E. (2007) Coercive Control: How Men Entrap Women in Personal Life. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Turner, H.A., Finkelhor, D. and Ormrod, R. (2010) Poly-victimization in a national sample of children and youth. American Journal of Preventive Medicine 38(3): 323–30. 10.1016/j.amepre.2009.11.012.

  • Ugazio, V. (2013) Semantic Polarities and Psychopathologies in the Family: Permitted and Forbidden Stories. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vetere, A. and Cooper, J. (2006) The effects of domestic violence on children: Trauma, resilience and breaking the cycle of violence. Journal of Critical Psychology, Counselling and Psychotherapy, 6: 26–39.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wardaugh, J. (1999) The unaccommodated woman: Home, homelessness and identity. The Sociological Review 47(1), 91–109.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weiss, N. (2014) Research under duress. In I. Maček (ed.), Engaging Violence: Trauma, Memory and Representation. London: Routledge, pp. 127–139.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Psychology, University of Northampton, Boughton Green Road, Northampton, NN2 7AL, UK

    Jane E. M. Callaghan

  2. Centre for Children and Youth, University of Northampton, Northampton, UK

    Joanne H Alexander

  3. Department of Psychology, University of East London, London, UK

    Lisa C Fellin

Authors
  1. Jane E. M. Callaghan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Joanne H Alexander
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Lisa C Fellin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jane E. M. Callaghan.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Callaghan, J.E.M., Alexander, J.H. & Fellin, L.C. Children’s embodied experience of living with domestic violence: “I’d go into my panic, and shake, really bad”. Subjectivity 9, 399–419 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41286-016-0011-9

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/s41286-016-0011-9

Keywords

  • domestic violence
  • interpersonal violence
  • children
  • embodiment
  • child witness
  • children exposed to domestic violence