ABSTRACT

Those fleeing domestic violence often have complex and diverse needs but central for all is access to a ‘place of safety’. Caring for victims/survivors is largely predicated on the availability of secure housing but an absence of stock together with competition in the private rented sector has significantly reduced the chances of victims of domestic violence and abuse (DVA) being housed. In this paper, I explore the ‘cultures of care’ that shape responses to the housing needs of victims/survivors of DVA by those working in housing and other support services, showing that, in an environment of limited resource, an understanding of the experiences and choices of victims/survivors becomes highly significant. Drawing on research undertaken in the UK, I argue that attitudes towards victims/survivors of DVA are shaped by notions of romantic love and constructions of the abused body as unruly, unpredictable and self-destructive. Within this context survivors’ ‘poor choices’ may serve to limit their access to safe housing and to wider cultures of care and support. The paper provides a theoretically informed contribution to understandings of the relationship between violence, love and care and how this plays out in safe housing provision.

摘要

那些逃离家庭暴力的人往往有复杂多样的需求，但对所有人来说最重要的是获得“安全场所”。对受害者/幸存者的照顾在很大程度上取决于是否有安全住房，但缺乏库存以及私人租赁部门的竞争大大降低了家庭暴力和虐待 (DVA) 受害者获得安置的机会。在本文中，我探讨了那些在住房和其他支持服务部​​门工作的人对 DVA 受害者/幸存者的住房需求做出反应的“关怀文化”，表明在资源有限的环境中，对经历的理解受害者/幸存者的选择变得非常重要。借鉴在英国进行的研究，我认为，对 DVA 受害者/幸存者的态度是由浪漫爱情的概念和被虐待身体的不守规矩、不可预测和自我毁灭的结构所塑造的。在这种情况下，幸存者的“糟糕选择”可能会限制他们获得安全住房以及更广泛的关怀和支持文化。本文为理解暴力、爱与关怀之间的关系以及这在安全住房供应中的作用提供了理论依据。