Killing animals: sociology, species relations and institutionalized violence

Influential voices have argued for a sociology which acknowledges the way we are co-constituted with a range of non-human species as part of the condition of life on this planet. Despite this, sociology has generally retained a conception of the social that is centred on the human. This paper argues for the inclusion of non-human animals in sociological agendas, focusing on the emerging field of the sociology of violence. It examines the institutions and processes through which non-human animals are subjected to different forms of violence, most notably, mass killing.The practice of killing animals is routine,normative,institutionalized and globalized.The scale of killing is historically unprecedented and the numbers killed are enormous. The paper argues that this killing of non-humans raises questions around inequal- ities and intersectionality, human relations with other species, the embedding of violence in everyday practices and links between micro and macro analyses. These are questions with which the new sociology of violence might engage.

Beyond "Witnessing": Childrens Experiences of Coercive Control in Domestic Violence and Abuse

Children’s experiences and voices are underrepresented in academic literature and professional practice around domestic violence and abuse. The project “Understanding Agency and Resistance Strategies” (UNARS) addresses this absence, through direct engagement with children. We present an analysis from interviews with 21 children in the United Kingdom (12 girls and 9 boys, aged 8-18 years), about their experiences of domestic violence and abuse, and their responses to this violence. These interviews were analyzed using interpretive interactionism. Three themes from this analysis are presented: (a) “Children’s experiences of abusive control,” which explores children’s awareness of controlling behavior by the adult perpetrator, their experience of that control, and its impact on them; (b) “Constraint,” which explores how children experience the constraint associated with coercive control in situations of domestic violence; and (c) “Children as agents,” which explores children’s strategies for managing controlling behavior in their home and in family relationships. The article argues that, in situations where violence and abuse occur between adult intimate partners, children are significantly affected, and can be reasonably described as victims of abusive control. Recognizing children as direct victims of domestic violence and abuse would produce significant changes in the way professionals respond to them, by (a) recognizing children’s experience of the impact of domestic violence and abuse; (b) recognizing children’s agency, undermining the perception of them as passive “witnesses” or “collateral damage” in adult abusive encounters; and (c) strengthening professional responses to them as direct victims, not as passive witnesses to violence.

Investigating Links Between Intimacy and Violence in Intensive Psychotherapy

This research examines links between intimacy and violence within the transference relationship of a three year old boy during intensive psychotherapy. Psychoanalytic clinical findings are used to examine triggers to violence that initially appeared to link with moments of emotional warmth. The research uses a retrospective single case study design. The clinical data cover a period of transition in the child's life from being a 'looked after child' in foster care to being adopted. There was a history of early trauma from neglect and domestic abuse. Clinical process notes from supervised sessions were coded using an adapted grounded theory approach to reveal complex interlinking themes of intimacy, violence, Oedipal issues, control and difficulties regulating affect. Data in this study show how intimacy and violence are linked when there is evidence of a separation between the self and the object of intimacy. Explosive violence is triggered by the threat of loss of the object and the rage is, at times directed towards the object of intimacy. The findings of this study support concepts identified by earlier research in the field about the impact of a lack of maternal containment on innate violence, associated struggles with the Oedipal complex and the impact upon the capacity for symbol formation and thinking. However, the research findings challenge Glasser's (1979) theory of the 'core complex' that suggests that intimacy triggers violence. The results of this research indicate that it is the threat to the loss of intimacy as a result of separation from the object that is the trigger to violence. I believe this study may, in a modest way, further understanding about links between violence and intimacy in human relationships. This may help other child psychotherapists be alert to certain dangers when dealing with violence in the therapy room.