‘Missing’ in action: men and child deaths

Outline of presentation Is it ‘useful’ to focus on child deaths? Headlines from the research on men and social care services- Fathers Matter research Some of the existing research on men and child deaths Should, what and how for future research?

Child Deaths Is it useful generally to focus on such deaths? Legislating and learning from ‘bad’ cases? Do such cases tell us something about broader trends? Are the lessons currently being learned in the case of Baby P the ‘right’ ones (see, for example, Community Care, April 9, 2009)

Fathers Matter Research Overview of Rounds 1and 2 (Round 3 has just been funded) 80% of birth fathers were not part of the household where the child was living 12% of children were living with both birth or adoptive parents 54% living with mother only 20% of children’s files audited did not have the birth father named on the file – 31% of looked after children’s file did not Nearly a quarter of the children did have another significant father figure, other than birth father, noted on the file- lack of clarity about status and legal issues for some No recorded cases where both had parental responsibility – 17 out of 67 cases had no information on parental responsibility in relation to the fathers Father figures who are no longer part of the household – significant issue

‘Involvement’ in meetings, proceedings etc The legal concept of parental responsibility Initial and core assessments had an equally poor record of inviting fathers to meetings Greater involvement in child protection investigations When fathers were invited to meetings, three quarters of them came Very few paternal kin involved with initial assessments – FGCS only used for 12 out of 67 children

Murder of children by fathers in the context of child abuse Cavanagh, Dobash and Dobash (2007) Poorly educated men with significant criminal histories (precariously attached to the labour market): almost three-quarters had also perpetrated violence against intimate partners (child’s birth mother) and had been violent on previous occasions to the child who died 62% were step-fathers -only 4 cases where the perpetrator was a birth father married to the birth mother- stepfathers had more disrupted and disadvantaged backgrounds and experiences than birth fathers

Other findings An important contextual element was that the victim was in the sole care of the perpetrator, mothers having left fathers with temporary responsibility – some seemed unable or unwilling to discharge these responsibilities without resorting to violence Jealousy and resentment – children as rivals Children viewed as adults with responsibility towards the men Issue of motivation – intention to kill?? Authors suggest that their findings support other findings that some stepfathers are reluctant to invest in other men’s children However, they do acknowledge some of the problems with treating status on its own as an explanatory variable LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

Wilcznyski (1995) The study adopted a classification based upon the motive for the crime – the suspects’ explanations for their behaviour immediately after the offence and in police interviews 11 categories of motive Marked gender differences – men tended to predominate in the retaliating, jealousy and discipline cases and women in the unwanted child, altruistic and psychotic categories However, a limitation not addressed in this paper was were they ‘doing gender’?

Child deaths –An alternative approach Reder, Duncan and Gray (1993) – ‘Beyond blame’ – review of 35 inquiry reports – Gender blind Tried to make sense of events which culminated in the deaths and to understand more about the behaviour of the families and the professionals Systemic framework based upon their clinical approach - helps analyse the covert, interactional and contextual constraints upon us as individuals Notion of power – domain of experience and domain of explanation Parental relationships – the meaning of the child Care and control conflicts

Overall Child abusing behaviour is seen not as an inherent characteristic of individual parents but as an interaction between parents with unresolved conflicts and vulnerable children in the context of heightened tension in wider relationships and social stress – Care and control conflicts dominated family relationships in the present and the past

Should, what and how? From a gendered perspective? How is really important raising ethical and methodological issues of the gravest importance What is important to consider? Relational dynamics? The meaning of children? ……. And should???? Or should the research focus lie elsewhere?

References Ashley, C. et al (2006) Fathers Matter, London, Family Rights Group Cavanagh K et al (2007) ‘The murder of children by fathers in the context of child abuse’, Child Abuse and Neglect, 31: Reder, P., Duncan, S. and Gray, M (1993) Beyond Blame, London, Routledge Roskill, C et al (2008) Fathers Matter: further findings, London, Family Rights Group