1
Formal or informal social control? Responding to
family polyvictimization
Edward Ko-ling Chan, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Department of Social Work & Social Administration
The University of Hong Kong
Mind the Culture Gap’:
Understanding and Appreciating the Role of Culture in
Developing Effective Interventions for IPV conference
October 24, 2015
2
Complexity of family violence
Current pragmatic approach in studying family violence: -
• Considerable studies of family violence have focused on
a single form of victimization out of the large spectrum
of family violence like child victimizations (Finkelhor,
Ormrod, Turner & Hamby, 2005)
• Finkelhor, Ormrod, Turner & Hamby (2007) revealed that
22% of the children experienced four or more different
kinds of victimization in a single year (poly-victims).
• Poly-victimization was highly predictive of trauma
symptoms.
Growing studies of co-occuring forms, examples:
IPV + elder: 1% to 71% (Grossman & Lundy, 2003;
Zink & Fisher, 2007)
Child maltreatment + elder abuse: 10% to 66%
(Pritchard,2007; Reay & Browne, 2001).
CAN + IPV: 6% to 67% (Chan, 2015a)
Co-occurrence of three forms or more?
3
Distribution of Parental Addictive Behavior and Health-
Related Factors, by the Number of Types of Violence
6
Discussion
High prevalence rates of co-occurrence of child victimization & family violence
Children who experience one kind of victimization are at greater risk of experiencing other forms of victimization
Sharing common risk factors: gambling, smoking, alcoholic and substance abuse
Impact of family polyvictimization on health and mental health
11
Formal services: criminal justice response
Awareness and screening for co-occurring forms of family violence.
Unless the full extent of violence across different types is evaluated, practices focusing on only a single type of violence exposure will be neither efficient nor effective in intervening in the cycle of violence.
It is thus essential for child protective service workers, clinicians, researchers, and police officers to be aware of the interconnections among types of violence and the variables that exacerbate those connections if the environment for abused children is to be improved.
Intervention by checking for the simultaneous existence of multiple forms of violence within the same nuclear family should therefore be implemented.
12
Is the existing law sufficient to protect?
Competing values:
Child welfare vs property of parents
For the best interest of a child vs parents’ concern/family
wholeness
Legal representative for a child: A child can be represented by
the “next friend” (2008 amendment of DVO). Any legal
support (e.g. advocates) provided?
Low utilization of restraining orders under DCRVO (Cap189)
13
Gender sensitive &
child-centered court procedures
Example: A child killed by being locked in a suitcase
(2006)
14
Could the surviving child be more safe?
Is it the court’s concern?
Does the judge need to be sensitive?
18
Informal social control
Concept of neighborhood, social support, availability of
family support
Informal social control/support, as a partnering force of
violence prevention, other than formal services
19
Informal social support can be:
Supportive but not protective
Conditions required to becoming “informal social
control” which is a protective factor for IPV and CAN
Policy and law to enhance informal social control
21