Shedding Light on Hidden Forms of Domestic Violence: Towards a Harm-Based Approach

• In Event: Forms and Dynamics of Family Violence

Abstract

There are forms of domestic violence (such as certain types of parent-to-child abuse) that are currently overlooked in socio-criminological research and in public policies, but that deserve more attention because of the major psychological and social injuries they can cause; this might be due to assumptions on certain social characteristics (such as age and gender) and related power dynamics, or roles (such as motherhood) and related normative values. Online, however, discourses around these forms of violence are surfacing more easily, through discussion in support groups, and through the work of psychologists, advocates/survivors, and other forms of expert knowledge on mental health. This exploratory research, based on interviews with gatekeepers of relevant digital communities, aims to clarify and map the types of harm linked to parent-to-child psychological violence, trying to move beyond the state of the art on socio-criminological literature on domestic violence, advocating on a harm-based approach as a way to allow the emergence of underreported victimization.

Author

• Anita Lavorgna, Alma Mater Studiorum - University of Bologna