Valentine, Marguerite Mary (1989) Developing a critical theory of child abuse : a discussion of the nature of child abuse as a manifestation of the social order. PhD thesis, University of Warwick.

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Abstract

This thesis is an exploration into the nature and the prevalence of
child abuse. It incorporates in this investigation how children
understand abuse, and how the child may reject or oppose it. Its
origins lie in the experiences and observations I made as a local
authority social worker where children were silent, where child
abuse was seen as an event, a distinct moment within family life,
and with apparently little recognition of its relationship with the
social order. Arising from this observation, I consider how the
care of children may be a manifestation of the social order. This
thesis is therefore also a critique of the present theory and
practice of working within the field of childcare.
The premise taken here is that in order to understand abuse, there
must be an account of the individual's sense of being, as this
relates to wider issues of the political economy. Thus this
investigation uses the perspective of critical theory, since
critical theory can incorporate an analysis of both structure and
the experiential. It enables the researcher to shift perspective
and to focus on different levels and aspects of being.
Therefore, since child abuse is situated within the family, an
analysis based on the perspectives of critical theory is used to
examine family relationships. This includes an examination of the
relationships between parents, as well as of those between them and
the child. Three different facets of family life are explored:
that of gender construction from the viewpoint of feminist
psychoanalysis; the relationship between the social order and
interpersonal behaviour from the perspective of Marx and radical
feminism; and parental authority, drawing on the work of Laing.
Derived from this exploration, the key concepts of patriarchy,
alienation and mystification inform the direction of the empirical
investigation.
The empirical investigation, using firstly autobiographies of
childhood and then direct interviews with children, explores
further these concepts'. The autobiographies are used as a way of
sensitising oneself to the issues for the child, and as a means of
categorising experiences for the subsequent interviews with
children. From this reading, an alternative understanding of child
abuse is developed, one which differs from the narrow definition
used by organisations. Hence abuse can be seen as the experience
of hurt and pain, either emotional or physical, and which takes
place in a relationship based on the parental domination, control
and exploitation of the child. This understanding of abuse
situates the subjective experience within an interpersonal dynamic
of power and subordination.
Using this definition in analysing the interviews with children, it
was apparent that all children expedrience a form of abuse to some
degree. Abuse is not, therefore, the property of a small number of deviant families. Additionally it is argued that children are
silenced and rendered powerless within the family by three
mechanisms: firstly by the 'privacy control mechanism', secondly by
the 'ideology of paternalism', and thirdly by mystification. These
can be interpreted as also reinforcing the social order, since this
also depends for its maintenance on domination, powerlessness, and
mystification of the mechanisms of control.
The thesis concludes with a number of proposals for further
exploring these concepts in terms of developing sociological theory
and social work practice. The report on the death of Jasmine
Beckford is subjected to an alternative analysis, and derived from
this critique, ways of confronting violence, mystification and
privacy are discussed. Finally the thesis stresses the importance
of understanding child abuse as a personal as well as a social
phenomenon, and that it has ultimately, a political significance.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HQ The family. Marriage. Woman H Social Sciences > HV Social pathology. Social and public welfare
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	Child abuse, Child care services, Families
Official Date:	January 1989
Dates:	Date Event January 1989 Submitted
Institution:	University of Warwick
Theses Department:	Department of Applied Social Studies
Thesis Type:	PhD
Publication Status:	Unpublished
Supervisor(s)/Advisor:	Leonard, Peter, 1930- ; Carpenter, Mick
Sponsors:	Haringey (London, England)
Extent:	[ix], 469 leaves
Language:	eng

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