Domestic Violence and Pregnancy in Ireland: Women’S Routes to Seeking Help and Safety
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Domestic violence and pregnancy in Ireland: women’s routes to seeking help and safety 2020 Siobán O’Brien Green Declaration I declare that this thesis has not been submitted as an exercise for a degree at this or any other university and it is entirely my own work. I agree to deposit this thesis in the University’s open access institutional repository or allow the Library to do so on my behalf, subject to Irish Copyright Legislation and Trinity College Library conditions of use and acknowledgement. I consent to the examiner retaining a copy of the thesis beyond the examining period, should they so wish (EU GDPR May 2018). Signed By ____________________ Siobán O’Brien Green _____________________ Date i Dedication My PhD study is dedicated to all the inspiring women survivors of gender-based violence I have met through my work and research over many years. Especially to the women who agreed to participate in this research study by being interviewed. Thank you so very much. Three very important women in my life died during my PhD, I also want to dedicate my thesis to their memory. May Green (March 1912-May 2017), my wonderful, loving Granny Green who was a pioneer in social justice in her community, a champion for education for her granddaughters and all women, an excellent business woman, a kind, thoughtful and extremely generous person in so very many ways. I know you are with me in spirit every day Granny. Mary Paula Walsh (April 1941-April 2017) who I had the wonderful gift of knowing as a close and valued family friend since my childhood and working with in Turning Point as an adult. Mary Paula was a gifted social worker, psychotherapist and teacher who greatly influenced my work and research in so many ways. Mary Paula really taught me to profoundly listen and be present with people through their trauma, grief and pain and how best to accompany them on their journey to healing and change. Dr Christine Loudes (1972- December 2016) whom I had the great pleasure of working with when she was Director of the European End FGM Campaign. Christine was so delighted when I began my PhD and always encouraged my research and work on FGM and GBV in Ireland and Europe. Christine’s greatest influence on me was to ensure I amplify the voices of the most marginalised women I encounter through my research, in order to ensure they get heard by those who can make greatest change. Thank you so very much, Granny, Mary Paula and Christine. ii Acknowledgements My sincere thanks to the domestic violence services across Ireland for assisting with interviewee recruitment and for sharing their valuable experiences and expertise in relation to the study topic and design. Special thanks go to my colleagues in SAFE Ireland who responded so positively to my research study and to Sonas Domestic Violence Charity. For reasons of interviewee confidentiality I don’t want to identify the exact services who very kindly allowed me to interview in their premises and enabled women to participate by informing them about the study and often provided childcare: but you know who you are and thanks so very much. Enormous appreciation and thanks go to Professor Trevor Spratt, Director of the Trinity Research in Childhood Centre (TRiCC), in Trinity College Dublin who very kindly and generously agreed to become my PhD supervisor 18 months into my PhD study. Having such an experienced, knowledgeable and insightful supervisor to guide me to PhD completion was so very important. By providing me with a happy, stable and supportive academic ‘home’ I could work, progress my study and publish at my maximum capacity: it enabled me to become the researcher I am today. Thank you so very much Trevor, it is a real honour to know you. Thanks to Trinity College Dublin (TCD) and the Ussher PhD Fellowship scheme for funding my PhD study for three years. Many thanks to my family for their ongoing encouragement and support, especially my siblings Deirdre, Ben, Fulya, Suzan and Naoise and my parents Desmond and Gale, my in-laws Pat and Michelle and my extended family. Special thanks go to my Dublin nieces Ella, Áine and Evelyn who were the very best possible distraction from the pressures of undertaking a PhD and who loved visiting my TRiCC office. Very deep appreciation to the two brilliant academics who began my PhD journey Dr Patricia Kennedy and Dr Jo Murphy-Lawless. To Jo my particular thanks for all your insights, support and advice during my PhD study. My sincere thanks go to the International Expert Advisory Group members formed for my PhD study: Dr Kathleen Baird (Director of Midwifery and Nursing Education, Griffith University, Australia); Professor Mirjam Lukasse (Department of Nursing and Health Promotion, Oslo Metropolitan University, Norway); Dr An-Sofie Van Parys (International Centre for Reproductive Health, Ghent University, Belgium); and Dr Dalila Cerejo (Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Portugal). The suggestions, recommendations and encouragement from the Group was iii exceptional and of such high calibre that the advice I received was unparalleled. Thank you also for a wonderful invitation from Professor Mirjam Lukasse to visit Oslo and her university in 2018, meet with her brilliant research colleagues and celebrate 200 years of midwifery education in Norway, all of which was very inspirational and informative. Thanks to my friends for their never ending patience as PhD research took over my life, especially Lucy Deegan Leirião who provided very practical and helpful support when I broke my arm in 2018. To my many other friends all over the world, thanks so much for being so very understanding and such wonderful friends. Special thanks to Kerry, Amanda, Sam, Shelly, Gabi, Diarmaid, Vivienne, Joanne and Mary for your boundless encouragement and support. Thanks to the always supportive and enthusiastic Philip McCormack in Cosc who was hugely encouraging before and during my PhD. Thanks to my wonderful and inspiring Club Health conference colleagues; Dr Sarah Morton in UCD, Dr Chris Luke, Andrew Bennett and the global Club Health Conference community. It was a pleasure and privilege to work with you over two years to bring the Club Health conference to Dublin in May 2017. See you in Amsterdam in 2019! Thanks to my new Trinity and GSU friends who have been a great support during the PHD and great fun; Theodorus Fransen (heel erg bedankt agus míle buíochas), Shane Collins, Lisanne, Gosia, Magda, Karen, Margaret, Jeannine, Tracey, Lynn, Ruth, my GSU colleagues, all my TRiCC colleagues and super office companions Danielle O’Sullivan and Amy Stapleton. Special thanks also to Sarah Parker in TRiCC for helpful feedback during the thematic analysis stage of my PhD. Thank you to Dr Niamh Flanagan, in Maynooth University for very helpful and applied SPSS support. Thanks also to my colleagues Mary Roynane, Caroline Counihan and Diane Nurse for providing insights and encouragement whenever needed. Thanks to Grace Wilentz for interviewee recruitment support. My Belgian colleagues deserve sincere thanks for their support especially Professor Els Leye, Dr Lut Mergaert, Katrine Van der Heyden (dank u wel) and Catarina Arnault (obrigada). Thank you to my DukeEngage colleagues, Professor Bill Tobin and Professor Suzanne Shanahan, special thanks for the wonderful warm welcome you gave me in Duke University, North Carolina, USA during my visit in November 2017. Sincere thanks to Dr Heidi Siller, Medical University of Innsbruck, Austria for her assistance with intersectionality methodological queries. Thank you also to my many colleagues in University College Dublin, School of Social Policy, Social Work and Social Justice where I had the great pleasure of teaching for many years. iv Thanks to Ben Meehan in QDA Training for my NVivo training and support. Thanks to Greg Sheaf, Caitriona Honohan and Siobhan Dunne in the TCD Library and David Hamill TCD IT services, for their practical help. Thanks also to Dermot Frost, Manager, High Performance Computing Centre in TCD for his expert IT assistance. Support and advice to overcome some very acute challenges during my PhD in Trinity was very knowledgeably and generously provided by; Martin McAndrew, Helen Thornbury, Dr Stephanie Holt, Orson Francescone (grazie mille), Professor John O’Hagan, Professor Joyce O’Connor and Sharon Foley, thank you all so very much. To my many European Union COST Action colleagues on GenderSTE and Femicide Across Europe, thanks go especially to Dr Maria Amor del Barros del Rio in the University of Burgos. To Professor Sylvia Walby, thank you for providing me with the insights as to why I couldn’t find the right fit for what I was looking for and for coming to Trinity College Dublin and Áras an Uachtaráin in November 2018. Thanks to Dr Frédérick Leboyer (1918 – 2017) who very sadly died during my PhD and whom I had the wonderful privilege of meeting on a few of occasions in Dublin. I often re-read his seminal book Birth Without Violence when I needed to reflect on my research aim and recuperate my energy to continue with my PhD. Frédérick’s book always reminded me of the importance of supporting mothers to give birth in the least violent way possible and of welcoming babies into the world in a peaceful, loving, respectful and calm environment. Thanks also to Saoirse and Rosita for becoming the VIP stars in many of my presentations which discussed responding to vicarious trauma during research and for being a wonderful source of fun and stress relief during the PhD. Pero lo más importante es mi marido Carlos Panero Santos. Gracias Carlos por todo tu apoyo y paciencia durante este camino interesante, pero a veces intenso y difícil.