Maternal Alienation: the Use of Motherblaming in Abuse

Abstract

This paper reports on the early stages of a qualitative research project jointly supervised by Northern Women's Community Health Centre and the Univerity of Adelaide. The study uses a feminist framework to focus on the extent of motherblaming in various types of abuse, identifying motherblaming as a strategy rather than a by-product of abuse, and examining how systems and professionals have perpetuated this phenomenon. The project stemmed from the experiences of women attending the Centre, and the lack of acknowledgement of their experiences in mainstream practice. The research method includes semi-structured interviews with a small number of mothers and survivors of abuse, and this report uses material derived from these interviews to identify the tactics and effects of motherblaming. Suggestions are made for the development of programs and practice models that will address women's and children's needs in these situations.