Narratives of Childhood Domestic Violence

Narratives of Childhood Domestic Violence: Epistemic Justice, Young Women and Transitions to Young Adulthood. Routledge. DOI: 10.4324/9781003393160. Available from Routledge

Endorsements

“This well written book, based on careful and thoughtful research, extends the current literature on how we think about the impact of domestic abuse on children and young people, and the longer term implications across the lifecourse. The book goes beyond the victim/survivor binary, to explore how young women have made sense of their childhood experiences, and how their identities have been shaped and reshaped by these experiences. The book is a compelling read. I strongly recommend anyone interested in children and young people’s experiences of domestic abuse to read this book - which should be everyone.”

Dr John Devaney, Professor of Social Work, University of Edinburgh, UK

“This book is a courageous trailblazer for gender specific understandings of childhood domestic abuse, focusing on girls’ experiences which are often overlooked and silent(ced). Actively leaning into the complexities and tensions of young women’s perspectives, and rooted in epistemic justice, Dr Frances explores girls’ inner worlds. The use of poetry to examine the narratives is enchanting. Written with sensitivity, respect, and reflexivity, Dr Frances holds the narratives like butterflies in her hands. A beautifully written book which offers a beacon of hope for girls to step out of the shadows; they deserve to be heard.”

Dr Jade Levell, Senior Lecturer in Criminology and Gender Violence, University of Bristol, UK

“This is a compelling book that critically considers human violence. Tanya Frances has developed a richly narrated critique of domestic violence theory and conveys the power of redressing epistemic injustices where people’s lived experiences fall into knowledge gaps. Her research with people who have experienced violence and focus upon its effects is rigorous and holds central, the contributors’ experiences. There is precision and power in the presentation of this important textbook and I highly recommend it for people wanting to understand more about domestic abuse or those working within the counselling and mental health professions.”

Professor Lynne Gabriel, OBE, Professor of Counselling and Mental Health, York St John University, UK

Other selected articles & books

Rost, F., Moller, N., Frances, T., McFaul, C., Malta, G. and Ness, H. (2025). Counselling Skills and Knowledge for SCoPEd B. SAGE & The Open University Press.

Thompson, L., Donnelly, L., Turley, E., Frances, T, & Lazard, L. (2025). Intersectional consciousness in studies of violence: Feminist psychological perspectives. Feminism & Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1177/09593535251405847

Thompson, L., Frances, T., Turley, E., Lazard, L., & Donnelly, L. C. (2025). Conceptualizing and measuring violence: A feminist critical measurement analysis of gender-based violence research in a government policy-based setting. Violence Against Women. DOI: 10.1177/10778012251320586

Frances, T. (2024). Listening for what is unsaid. A trauma-informed storytelling approach could help young adult clients process the effects of childhood domestic abuse. Therapy Today, October 2024. Downloadable article here.

Frances, T., Turley, E. & Donnelly, L. C. (2024). Guest editorial. Coercive control: A decade later. Psychology of Women & Equalities Review, 7(1), 2-5. https://doi.org/10.53841/bpspowe.2024.7.1.2

Frances, T. (2024). A dialogical narrative approach to transitions and change in young women’s lives after domestic abuse in childhood: Considerations for counselling and psychotherapy. British Journal of Guidance and Counselling, p. 19-35. https://doi.org/10.1080/03069885.2023.2292747

Frances, T., & Lucas, S. E. (2023). Participatory research with women in the perinatal period: Considerations for reflexive, community-oriented and power-sensitive research practices. Qualitative Social Work. DOI: 10.1177/14733250231214203

Frances, T., O’Neill, K., & Newman, K. (2023). “An extra fight I didn’t ask for”: A qualitative survey exploring the impact of calories on menus for people with experience of eating disorders. British Journal of Health Psychology. DOI: 10.1111/bjhp.12685

Thompson, L., Turley, E. L., Frances, T., Donnelly. L. C., Lazard, L., Bassra, S., Castellino, C., Christie, D., Hubbard, K., Jia, X., Keating, G., Lobban, R., Luo, T., Mishra, A., Moore, N., & Smith, B. (2023). Doing Feminisms on the Ground: Challenges and Opportunities for Critical Feminist Psychologies. Psychology of Women and Equalities Review, 6(1), 5 – 19. DOI: 10.53841/bpspowe.2023.6.1.5

Frances, T. (2022). “It’s just kind of this thing that I need to navigate”: Young women’s stories of recoveries after domestic abuse in childhood. Violence Against Women, 29 (11), 2127-2146. DOI: 10.1177/10778012221125498

Frances, T. (2022). Feminist listening and becoming: voice poems as a method of working with young women’s stories of domestic abuse in childhood. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 20(1), 52-73. DOI: 10.1080/14780887.2022.2071785

Beetham, T., Turley, E., Lazard, L., Thompson, L., & Donnelly, L. C. (2021). An intersectional feminist response to the UK government’s Violence Against Women and Girls 2021-2024 Strategy consultation. Psychology of Women and Equalities Review, 4 (2), 6-16.

Frances, T., Gabriel, L., and James, H. (2019). Young children’s narrations of relational recovery: A school-based group for children who have experienced domestic violence. Journal of Family Violence, 34, 565-575, DOI: 10.1007/s10896-018-0028-7

Beetham, T. (2019). Intersectionality and Social Justice. Therapy Today, 30 (3)

Gabriel, L., Tizro, Z., James, H., Cronin-Davies, J., Frances, T., Corbally, A., Moreno-Lopez, E. and Hill, S. (2018). “Give me some space”: Exploring youth to parent aggression and violence. Journal of Family Violence, 33 (2), 161-169. DOI 10.1007/s10896-017-9928-1

Gabriel, L., James, H., Tizro, Z., Cronin-Davies, J., Beetham, T., Hullock, A. and Raynar, A. (2017). Reflexive research with mothers and children victims of domestic violence. Counselling and Psychotherapy Review, 17 (2), 157 – 165. https://doi.org/10.1002/capr.12117

Book chapters

Frances, T. (2025). Developing culturally sensitive understandings of psychological distress. In Rost, F., Moller, N., Frances, T., McFaul, C., Malta, G. and Ness, H. (Eds). Counselling Skills and Knowledge for SCoPEd B. SAGE & The Open University Press.

Frances, T. & Carter, G. (2023). Negotiating power, choice and agency: Working towards centralising children’s voices in the domestic violence and abuse intervention evidence-base, in Taylor, J., and Bates, E. Eds. Children and adolescents’ experiences of violence at home: Current theory, research and practitioner insights . Routledge.

Beetham, T., and Pope, K. (2020) Sustaining selfhood and embracing ‘selves’ in psychology: Risks, vulnerabilities and sustaining relationships, in Randall, J. Eds. Surviving Clinical Psychology: How to make the most of your journey to qualification. Routledge.

Short articles and blogs

Using feminist psychology to tackle violence against women and girls, November 25, 2021, BPS Blog

Beetham, T., Turley, E., Lazard, L., Donnelly, L.C., & Thompson, L. (October 4, 2021). Sarah Everard murder: the problem with the Government’s plan to make women ‘feel’ safer. The Conversation.

POWES response to the UK government’s consultation on their violence against women and girls strategy 2021-2024. July 7, 2021 BPS Psychology of Women and Equalities Section Blog