International research shows how gendered and androcentric practices in child protection social services increase the risk of harmful consequences for mothers and children. This paper discusses the results of a feminist single case study carried out in Italy, extracted from a wider research project on the experiences of single mothers in the field of child protection. Adopting the voice-centred relational method, an analysis was carried out of an in-depth interview with Flora, a single mother who has survived gender-based violence and has been an addressee of child protection social services. The results show the potential consequences of the father absence-mother blame paradigm coined by Strega et al. (2007) when applied to social work practice. The method of critically discussing a paradigm used by Krumer-Nevo (2016) in developing the poverty-aware paradigm provides insight into various ontological, epistemological and axiological facets. Flora's account highlight how harmful the father absence-mother blame paradigm can be for those experiencing it, via several means: an unquestioned ideal of the patriarchal nuclear family, actions by social workers based on positivist, risk-focused approaches, and an exclusive focus on children. The conclusion emphasises the importance of including the expert knowledge of addressees to develop more supportive social work practices.

The father absence-mother blame paradigm in child protection social work: an Italian feminist single case study / Fleckinger, Andrea. - In: EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK. - ISSN 1369-1457. - 26:2(2023), pp. 245-257. [10.1080/13691457.2022.2045259]

The father absence-mother blame paradigm in child protection social work: an Italian feminist single case study

Fleckinger, Andrea
2023-01-01

Abstract

International research shows how gendered and androcentric practices in child protection social services increase the risk of harmful consequences for mothers and children. This paper discusses the results of a feminist single case study carried out in Italy, extracted from a wider research project on the experiences of single mothers in the field of child protection. Adopting the voice-centred relational method, an analysis was carried out of an in-depth interview with Flora, a single mother who has survived gender-based violence and has been an addressee of child protection social services. The results show the potential consequences of the father absence-mother blame paradigm coined by Strega et al. (2007) when applied to social work practice. The method of critically discussing a paradigm used by Krumer-Nevo (2016) in developing the poverty-aware paradigm provides insight into various ontological, epistemological and axiological facets. Flora's account highlight how harmful the father absence-mother blame paradigm can be for those experiencing it, via several means: an unquestioned ideal of the patriarchal nuclear family, actions by social workers based on positivist, risk-focused approaches, and an exclusive focus on children. The conclusion emphasises the importance of including the expert knowledge of addressees to develop more supportive social work practices.
2023
2
Fleckinger, Andrea
The father absence-mother blame paradigm in child protection social work: an Italian feminist single case study / Fleckinger, Andrea. - In: EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK. - ISSN 1369-1457. - 26:2(2023), pp. 245-257. [10.1080/13691457.2022.2045259]
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11572/377451
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