Can we let families speak about domestic violence and abuse (DVA) and respond restoratively? Exploring family practices and restorative approaches where there is DVA and contact with child protection services.

Domestic violence and abuse (DVA) continues to be a significant factor in referrals to statutory children’s social care (CSC) in the UK. While families impacted by DVA have become more visible to CSC little is known of their family practices (FP) or experiences of restorative practices (RP). This thesis foregrounds the voices of families experiencing DVA in a collaborative study in one English city where RP were implemented as innovative practice in response to DVA and child protection (CP) concerns. The application of RP, in particular, family group conferencing (FGC) is a contested area for DVA practice with limited empirical knowledge of their use in statutory UK settings.

This qualitative study analyses data using 21 in-depth semi-structured interviews with family participants (15) and practitioners (6), focus groups (2) with practitioners
(10) and observations of practice. The findings are discussed in relation to three domains: family practices in the context of DVA; family lived experience of contact
with CSC, and practitioner experiences of working with families impacted by DVA in a restorative local authority. Through its exploration of FP and RP this thesis provides new insights that are relevant to social work practice and sociological scholarship on families. Data substantiates complexity in family lived experience and service responses where DVA is present alongside other adversities. Significant histories of abuse, trauma and recurrent intergenerational CSC contact negatively impacted help seeking and trust in services. CSC practice did not consider FP or respond adequately to families’ strong desires for resolution involving continued family relationships for some. While there is evidence of good practice, the aspiration of RP to support family resolution in situations of DVA remain in their infancy; constricted by risk-focused, gendered practice and insufficient practitioner training and support to work restoratively with families and specifically fathers that cause harm.