Gendered processes in child protection: 'Mother blaming' and the erosion of men's accountability

Majella Mulkeen
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引用次数: 12

Abstract

The Inquiry Report of the Roscommon Child Care Case (HSE, 2010) was the first Inquiry Report into intra-familial child abuse and neglect in the Irish context to explicitly identify a gender dimension to its findings. This paper seeks to build on these observations and argues that an analysis of the gendering processes that underlie understandings of and responses to neglect, violence and abuse can make child protection policy and practice more effective. The absence of an analysis which places gender at the core of policy and practice in child protection and family support raises serious questions about the differentiated responses to women and men who are subject to and perpetrators of violence, rape and abuse. Constructions of femininity and masculinity within child protection which systematically excludes fathers and mitigate sexual abuse by mothers must be addressed in order to enhance the support offered to parents and the quality of protection available to children. In addition a discourse of ‘mother-blaming’ which renders women responsible for matters over which they have little control and the reinforcement of men’s power when their abuse remains invisible in professional interventions are the unintended consequences of ignoring the gender dimension of work in this challenging field. The findings of this paper suggest that a gender lens may contribute to better practice in child protection and the greater likelihood that children will be protected and parents supported, each according to their need.
儿童保护中的性别过程:“指责母亲”和男性问责制的侵蚀
罗斯科蒙儿童保育案例调查报告(HSE, 2010)是爱尔兰背景下家庭内部虐待和忽视儿童的第一份调查报告,明确确定了其调查结果的性别维度。本文试图以这些观察结果为基础,并认为,对理解和应对忽视、暴力和虐待的性别过程进行分析,可以使儿童保护政策和实践更加有效。由于缺乏一项将性别置于儿童保护和家庭支助政策和做法核心的分析,因此对遭受暴力、强奸和虐待的妇女和男子的不同反应提出了严重的问题。必须解决在儿童保护中有系统地排除父亲和减轻母亲性虐待的女性气质和男性气质的建构问题,以便加强向父母提供的支持和向儿童提供的保护的质量。此外,“责备母亲”的话语使妇女对她们几乎无法控制的事情负责,而当他们的虐待在专业干预中仍然不可见时,男性的权力得到加强,这是忽视这一具有挑战性的领域中工作的性别层面的意外后果。本文的研究结果表明,性别视角可能有助于更好地实施儿童保护,并更有可能根据儿童的需要保护儿童,并为父母提供支持。
本文章由计算机程序翻译,如有差异,请以英文原文为准。
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