Background to the Research

• Much of the research carried out into violence in NI focuses on the impact of political violence. Yet during 1991-2 there were 25 homicides unrelated to the Troubles in NI, 10 of which were the result of domestic violence. During the same year over 1000 women accompanied by over 2000 children sought the help of Women's Aid in finding accommodation.
• Partly because of the emphasis on political violence in research and the media, the nature, extent and effects of child abuse and domestic violence are less well documented and understood. Even less well recorded and understood is the impact that political violence has on the interventions of state agencies in relation to violence within families.
  

Research Approach

• This article works on the premise that the political and social structure of NI is abnormal. Linked into this is the existence of a large section of the population who contest the political and moral legitimacy of the state and its representatives.
• These two factors are said to heavily influence the extent and nature of state interventions in the private sphere of the family. It is argued that as a result of operating in an area of social conflict, state agencies have not been able to intervene in the same way as their counterparts in Britain and the Irish Republic.
• To date there appears to have been no thorough examination of the responses of state agencies in child protection and domestic violence that takes into account the contested status of the NI State.
• In order to explore these matters further this article examines, through the use of literature, the policy and practice of the RUC and social workers in relation to child protection and domestic violence in NI.
  

Main Findings

• The occupational culture of the RUC (in keeping with its mainland counterparts) is dominated by a 'cult of masculinity'. Incidents of male violence against women are frequently regarded as not being examples of 'real crime'. The work carried out by the Child Abuse and Sexual Investigation Units (CARE Units), which were established in 1988, is viewed by many male officers to be the preserve of female officers and the work itself regarded as being the 'soft end' of police duties. These factors cast doubt on the idea that RUC officers have the appropriate understanding to deal effectively with child abuse and domestic violence.
• In 1994, 92% of the RUC were Protestant. The implications for child protection and domestic violence of the perception among a substantial number of nationalists that they would not be treated fairly by the RUC is not addressed at an official level.
• Official reports in relation to the role of the RUC in the areas of child abuse and domestic violence fail to take into account the unique circumstances in which the police force operate. There exists a conscious failure to address situations in which the legitimacy of the force is brought into question. There is also a reluctance to discuss the impact of the 'abnormal' nature of community policing strategies, where the police operate alongside the army and community police stations are, in effect, fortresses.
• The security role undertaken by the police makes their role in child protection and domestic violence problematic. Police officers may be reluctant to respond to calls for assistance during periods of civil unrest or fearing a hostile reception. People in nationalist areas may be reluctant to contact the RUC regarding 'ordinary crime' because of lack of confidence that the police will respond. Many women facing domestic violence felt unable to call the police to their home, perceiving that they would not enter their area for fear of ambush.
• The number of legally and illegally held guns in NI adds another dimension to domestic violence. Guns are more likely to be used in the control and abuse of women in situations of domestic violence than in the rest of the UK. In these situations the police appear to be reluctant to remove legally held guns even when there is evidence that they were being used to threaten or abuse women.
• In some areas of NI power lies with the paramilitary groups and not with the state. People may turn to these groups for 'unofficial justice' and 'punishment' of abusers.
• Unlike their mainland counterparts - who come under the control of locally elected authorities - social workers in NI operate under the auspices of the four quasi-autonomous Health and Social Service Boards. They are not subject to local and democratic accountability.
• Research shows that on occasion when carrying out child protection duties social workers will be selective about what type of cases they respond to or be reluctant to enter certain areas at night. In the past, social workers have had to negotiate with members of paramilitary groups in order to visit homes or remove children.
• It has been reported that some children have been reluctant to identify an abuser because the abuser has paramilitary connections.

Conclusion

• The cease fires and the focus on securing an end to violence masks the nature and extent of violence within families in NI.
• Policy and practice in relation to child protection and domestic violence in NI does not fit into the 'normal' framework of social policy and criminology followed in mainland Britain. The 'abnormal' political and social structure of NI has shaped the nature and extent of interventions by the police and social workers.
• There is little or no recognition of this state of affairs in official literature, with both the police force and social workers neglecting the abnormal circumstances in which they try to implement policies on child protection and domestic violence.
• Despite claims to the contrary by the police force in NI, the unique make-up and role of the RUC undermines it's ability to properly protect children and women from violence in the home.
• There is a failure by both the RUC and social workers to adequately set theory and practice in relation to child protection and domestic violence within the wider political context.
• Despite the changes brought about by the Good Friday Agreement and the desire to bring about a police force that can command the support of the whole community, the RUC will be unable to respond adequately to violence within families as long as political and social conflict dominate the wider society. However, the Agreement may provide some of the conditions under which the issues of effective intervention by the state may be made possible.

Further Research

• Little research exists into the individual interventions of the police and social workers in families during the Troubles. Given the political situation this is likely to be a difficult area to research.
• The changing perception of the RUC in loyalist areas and how this might impinge on child protection practice since the signing of the Anglo-Irish Agreement is not addressed in this article and remains unexplored.