A Balancing Act When Children Are Young: Women’s Experiences in Shared Parenting Arrangements as Survivors of Domestic Violence

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to add to the research literature and begin to fill the gap in knowledge about shared parenting arrangements for women with young children and who have experienced domestic violence (DV), in three Canadian provinces; Alberta, Manitoba and Ontario.MethodThis paper...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Archer-Kuhn, Beth (Author) ; Hughes, Judith (Author) ; Saini, Michael (Author) ; Tam, Dora (Author) ; Beltrano, Natalie (Author) ; Still, Marni (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Published: 2024
In: Journal of family violence
Year: 2024, Volume: 39, Issue: 2, Pages: 221-233
Online Access: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
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Keywords:
Qualitative Research
young children
domestic violence
Shared parenting
Description
Summary:PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to add to the research literature and begin to fill the gap in knowledge about shared parenting arrangements for women with young children and who have experienced domestic violence (DV), in three Canadian provinces; Alberta, Manitoba and Ontario.MethodThis paper reports on the qualitative findings from a mixed methods study on shared parenting from women with children ages 4 and under. Twenty women participated in one-on-one individual interviews through electronic platform utilizing Zoom. Thematic analysis is used to analyze the data.ResultsDespite efforts to not exclusively recruit women who had experienced domestic violence (DV) from their former partner, all participants identified as survivors of DV and ongoing survivors of DV, specifically, coercive controlling behaviours. Five themes describe the women’s experiences of shared parenting with young children: 1) walking a tight-rope; 2) navigating post-separation relationships; 3) emotional realities of shared parenting; 4) shared parenting outcomes; and, 5) structural challenges.ConclusionsThis paper not only adds to the significant and longstanding gap in knowledge directly from women with children ages 4 and under in shared parenting relationships, and who have experienced DV, and also helps to inform social service and legal actors. It is timely with the amendments to the Divorce Act in Canada which now includes DV as a factor in determining the best interests of the child.
ISSN:1573-2851
DOI:10.1007/s10896-022-00452-z