After Family Violence: Survival or Growth? (original) (raw)

Finding Opportunities in Crisis, 2013

Abstract

Researchers from the Eastern Institute of Technology worked in partnership with DOVE (Domestic Violence Act) Hawkes Bay family violence intervention service, to investigate the effectiveness of the family violence interventions provided by the DOVE Research Project. One strand of the research undertook in-depth narrative interviews with nine perpetrators and victims of family violence in two provincial cities in New Zealand. Narrators were from a range of backgrounds, ages, ethnicities and circumstances. Some continued living with the partners with whom they had a violent relationship while others had moved on. Transforming family violence is complex and multi-stranded. Within each story threads of despair and hurt, anger and brokenness are juxtaposed with possibility and potential, achievement and strength in the face of overwhelmingly difficult circumstances. These stories illustrate the complexity of opportunity and transformation for people dealing with family violence. Is the opportunity presented by engaging with a family violence intervention service simply one of survival or is there hope for greater growth? What turns a crisis into an opportunity for transformation in the most personal of situations – intimate partner violence? When can we confidently say that transformation has taken place? How do external systems – the Police, criminal justice and family protection proceedings – help or hinder change? Data collected from other strands of the DOVE Research Project, including stakeholder interviews and statistical analysis of programme data, indicate that connecting with a family violence intervention service in the aftermath of a family violence crisis has the potential to create opportunities for familial growth and transformation. This chapter presents three stories which use the participants’ own words to illustrate the transformative struggle. Key Words: Family violence, narrative research, DOVE, intervention service, domestic violence, intimate partner violence, prevention, transformation, anger management, alcohol, assault, child protection, whānau, own words, Hawke’s Bay.

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