'Valentine has criticized the ways in which privacy acts like a veil to hide abusive domestic relations...'

 Violent Geographies of Childhood and Home: The Child in the Closet

By Kathrin Horschelmann

Abridged by this blogger

Introduction: The ‘Myth’ of the Enchanted Childhood

The myth of the enchanted childhood home has received remarkably little critical attention. The violence that many children are exposed to in the home, in western societies, has remained suspiciously absent from geographical and sociological discussion of both, childhood and the home.

Home: A Site of Terror & Traumatisation

There is little recognition in these portrayals of the fact that for many children home is, at minimum, a site of discipline and control and at worst, a site of terror and traumatization to which one might not wish to return as an adult. Around one-third of children experience physical abuse worldwide, while one in four girls and one in five boys are estimated to experience sexual abuse.

Myths & Idealised Narratives of Childhood

The myths constructed around childhood and home are most devastating for abused children and survivors of abuse themselves. Idealized narratives shield the home from critical scrutiny and contribute in this way to producing and upholding conditions that place children at increased risk of interpersonal, domestic abuse. If the primary focus of adult narratives and of research rests on the home as (ideally) a place of sanctuary, shelter, peace, and care, and if violence in the home is only problematized when it concerns adults, then abused children and survivors face an uphill struggle to make their voices heard!

The Privacy of the Home – Negative Experiences

Home tends to be seen as a place that lends a “sense of comfort” and belonging. Alongside numerous other feminist scholars, Valentine has criticized the ways in which privacy acts like a veil to hide abusive domestic relations. She points out that for many women, home is the context of ‘the most frightening violence of all’. That much of this violence and abuse is already experienced in childhood has, however, received remarkably little attention.

In the US, childhood abuse constituting the most frequent cause of traumatization for women. More than twice as many women report histories of childhood sexual abuse than of (adult) rape, which occurs in approximately 10 % of the general population [...]. In the United States, 61 % of all rapes occur before victims reach age 18; 29 % of forcible rapes occur before the age of 11 [...], usually by family members.

Children – Denied Right to Agency

Notwithstanding children’s agencies in negotiating their place within the social and their relationships with others, children who are abused in the home often have few other places to go! Children need their parents to survive, i.e., to receive food, shelter and cloth, even during and after abuse. Therefore, they likely know that fighting with the abusive parent or attempting to run away may place their survival at risk ... Another explanation is that these children have no place to go or are not strong enough to resist the parent.

Can the Children’s Voices be Heard?

The social marginalization of children and their normative placement in the home further heighten the risks they are exposed to as, in addition to isolation in the home, their voices are rarely heard and their experiences may be doubted by others in nondomestic contexts, such as in schools, communities, or extended families, where children may turn for support and/or where the need for intervention might otherwise be spotted.

Challenging Child Abuse

While social constructions of home, family, and childhood can contribute to the silencing and sanctioning of child abuse, at the same time, it is important to recognize that they also constitute a resource for challenging it. Thus, concerns about children’s vulnerabilities and dependencies underpin many critiques of corporal punishment and harsh disciplining.

Conclusion

Trauma research has shown, for instance, that the mobility and instability which children often experience as a result of disclosure and investigation can be both necessary for their protection and (re)traumatizing. At the same time, (re)attachment to trustworthy adults and strong social support can help on the (long) road to (partial) recovery. Notions of what a “normal,” “healthy” childhood and childhood environment ought to also underpin much psychological research and thinking about therapeutic interventions.