FiLiA Presents the Violence, Abuse and Women’s Citizenship Conference of ‘96

Thangam Debbonaire: Domestic Violence and Children

From 1996:
 As many as one woman in four experiences domestic violence at some time in her adult life. Where there are children, they are usually within hearing or sight during an attack on their mother. The effects on children of living with domestic violence are complex and not necessarily permanent, but include fear, distress and confusion. A significant proportion of these children are also abused directly. There are many, sometimes complex, connections between the abuse of women and the abuse of children. Refuges in the UK provide advice, support, information, advocacy, lobbying etc. for women and children. The majority of refuge residents are children.
The process of leaving domestic violence is difficult and risky. Violence often continues after leaving, men using any possible means to maintain control. Children can feel powerless or not understand what is going on. Research and practice in child protection often fail to take into account the gender and parenting role of particular parents although this may be the most significant factor. Where gender is noticed, the reasons for differences may be insufficiently considered. These children can often be badly affected by attitudes held by others, for example an assumption that because they have witnessed violence they too will become violent or victims. This theory (sometimes known as the ‘cycle of violence’) does not stand up to scrutiny and is damaging to children. Thangam has been working as National Children's officer for the Women’s Aid Federation England (WAFE) since 1991. Previously she worked as a volunteer and management committee member at a refuge for Asian women. Thangam is a contributor to the first book to be published in this country on children’s experiences of domestic violence (Mullender and Morley, 1995). She set up and currently co-ordinates the national training programme for children’s workers in refuges and also provides information, resources and support for those working with children in Women’s Aid, who have over 200 refuges. Thangam conducts training, consultation and regular keynote speeches on the subject of children and domestic violence, and initiated the first forthcoming research in England on children’s needs and experiences of living with domestic violence and their needs when leaving refuges.
Since 1996:
Baronesss Thangam Debbonaire is co-author of two books about domestic violence. She served as a member of Parliament from 2015-2024, and entered the House of Lords in 2025. 

Marieme Helie Lucas: Religion, Cultural And Ethnic Fundamentalisms: Violating Women’s Rights

From 1996:
Muslim fundamentalism is only one of the many evidences of the growing rise of political extremist right movements in the world which put women ‘back in their place’, using religion and traditions, as well as state apparatus and laws.
Marie-Aimee is an Algerian sociologist now living in France. She is founder of the core group of the international solidarity network “Women Living Under Muslim Laws.’
Since 1996: 
Marieme Helie Lucas is an Algerian sociologist and activist. She is a founding member of Women Living Under Muslim Laws, the Women Human Rights Defenders Coalition, and Secularism is a Women's Issue. She is the author of several books on secularism and women's rights. 

Monica McWilliams: Bringing Women Together Who Are Prepared To Work Through Other Agendas

From 1996:
"
Monica will speak about how the breakdown of the peace process has affected women in both communities.
Monica is the elected representative of the Northern Ireland Women's Coalition to the multi-party negotiations on the future of Northern Ireland. She is a Senior Lecturer and Course Director in Women’s Studies at the University of Ulster, and the co-author of Bringing it Back Home."
Since 1996:
Monica McWilliams is the co-founder of the Norther Ireland Women's Coalition, and served as a member of the Northern Ireland Assembly from 1998-2003. She was Chief Commissioner of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission from 2005-2011, and is Professor Emerita of Ulster University. She is a researcher specialising in domestic violence and conflict resolution. 

Dianne Butterworth: Computer Pornography

In this speech, Dianne Butterworth introduces the relatively new technology of the internet, how it is used to share pornography, and the barriers to addressing this. 
Dianne Butterworth made several contributions to the feminist magazine Trouble and Strife around the issue of online pornography, including an article which was republished in Feminism and Sexuality: A Reader in 1996. 

Donna Hughes: Pimping on the Internet

Trigger warning for explicit content. Please be aware this recording is interrupted and ends abruptly. 
From 1996:
The Internet has become the latest place for pimping women and children. This global communications network is being used to promote the global trafficking and sexual exploitation of women and children. Men use newsgroups to exchange information on where to buy women and girls and how to treat them. Commercial agent pimps offer catalogues of mail order brides and sex tours. After their trips the men-write reports on how much they paid for the women and children, including pornographic descriptions of what they did to them. A new communication technology called live videoconferencing has given rise to a new form of prostitution - live personal sex shows for men over the Internet. This unregulated rapid publishing network is enabling a global marketing of women that is totally unprecedented.
Donna M. Hughes holds the Eleanor M. and Oscar M. Carlson Chair in Women's Studies at the University of Rhode Island, USA. Her research areas include women/gender and science and technology; violence against women and sexual exploitation; and women's organized resistance to violence. 
Since 1996: 
Donna Hughes is a researcher of prostitution and human trafficking who campaigned to end prostitution in Rhode Island. She is on the editorial board of the Sexualisation, Media, and Society journal and has written several books and book chapters on sex trafficking and other feminist topics.  

Nomonde Dlamini: Child Abuse and Protection - a multidisciplinary approach

From 1996:
Child abuse has reached astronomical proportions in Soweto, South Africa. Of all forms of child abuse, child sexual abuse is the most commonly encountered at the Medico Legal Clinic and Zamokuhle Child Abuse Centre. The Clinic is a fully integrated service staffed on a 24 hour basis, and Zamokuhle is a follow up service which is community based. Presently the two institutions see 150 - 250 child sexual abuse cases a month. These child survivors have an array of sequelae related to their plight, including sexually transmitted diseases, pregnancy, behavioural problems, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, flashbacks, and poor scholastic achievement.
In this presentation I will describe the work of the professional networks and the community in the multi-disciplinary approach which integrates medical management, psychological management and support, and legal management.
Nomonde Dlamini is presently employed by the Gauteng Health Department as a senior Community Health Nurse at the Soweto Community Health Centres. She is also a trained midwife. She runs workshops for youth groups on life skills, leadership skills, and personality development issues. She is also a founding member of the Democratic Nurses Organization and has served in the Health Informatics System of the Strategic Management Team for Health.
Since 1996: 
No recent information on Nomonde Dlamini was found. 

Adele Jones: The Interaction of Child Protection and Immigration Issues

In this speech, Adele Jones discusses black children's experiences of immigration cases. 
Adele Jones was Professor of Social Work at the University of Huddersfield until 2021, and has managed many research projects looking at children's rights internationally. She is the creator and former Director of None in Three, a centre tackling global gender-based violence. 

Chris Harrison: Tackling Children and Neglect from a Feminist Perspective

From 1996:
Chris Harrison is a lecturer in social work at the University of Warwick. She has a long-standing interest in feminist research and its application within social work with women and children. She has been particularly interested in the use/abuse of the law and its impact on the lives of women and children. Her most recent project has been an action research project which explored social work practice in relation to mothers, fathers and children who had lost contact through being accommodated by the local authority.
Since 1996:
Dr Christine Harrison is a Professorial Teaching Fellow in Social Work and Associate Professor in the Centre for Lifelong Learning at the University of Warwick, specialising in child protection.  

Unidentified speaker: Suing sexual abusers in Canada

This speaker has not been identified. If you have any information about who this speaker could be, please get in touch via https://www.filia.org.uk/contact. 
This speech explores the practice of suing sexual abusers, in addition to or instead of pursuing them through the criminal justice system, in Canada. 

Gloudina Spies: Rendering Services to Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse

From 1996:
"
During my MA and DPhil research it was established that there are far more female than male victims of child sexual abuse. When a child is forced to participate in adult sexual practices, she becomes a victim in every sense of the word. She has no control over these events during which her right to self-determination is ignored. Should the harm of child molestation not be therapeutically addressed during childhood, this loss of self- determination is carried through to adulthood. As an adult the childhood victim feels disempowered and subjected to the will of others. Several levels of her functioning as an adult are negatively affected, such as adult sexual relationships, inter- and intra-relations, and parenting skills. Although these victims' lives have been negatively affected, it is unnecessary to bear this cross throughout their lives, as healing is possible.
During this presentation I shall therefore include a discussion of the various ways in which childhood molestation affects the female adult childhood victim, the therapeutic healing process, and the role of the therapist during the healing process. This will be presented from an eco-systemic approach as a theoretical framework.
Goudina Spies obtained her Masters degree in Social Work in 1988 with her thesis entitled Family Therapy with the Incest Family. After 15 years as a practising social worker, she joined the University of Pretoria in 1986 as lecturer in the Department of Social Work. She is now a lecturer in social work at the University of South Africa and has been promoted to senior lecturer from January 1997. Her field of expertise is the treatment of incest families, as well as adult survivors of child sexual abuse. She has submitted her Dphil dissertation, The Healing of Adult Survivors of Sexual Abuse, in August 1996 for examination."
Since 1996:
Gloudina Spies is a researcher in the field of child sexual abuse, at the Department of Social Work and Criminology, University of Pretoria.