Hierarchies of Harm and Violence

Historicising Familial Sexual Violence in Australia

Bibliographic Data

ID5855196
AuthorsLisa Featherstone (0000-0002-5189-1910), Amanda Kaladelfos
Year2014
Volume29
Issue81
Pages306-324
Publication date2014-07-03
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueAustralian Feminist Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1321-7568 • E-ISSN: 1465-3303
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/08164649.2014.958122
OpenAlexW1837472401
LanguageEN
Citations received5
References cited16

This article interrogates the prosecution of familial sexual crimes in 1950s Australia, a decade where the family was considered the bedrock of society. Using criminal trial transcripts from the period, we analyse how offenders, victims, families, lawyers and judges understood familial sexual abuse. We examine the contours of cases heard by New South Wales (NSW) higher courts in the 1950s, analysing three important themes: conceptualisations of the harm and violence in familial abuse; the relationship between offenders' explanations of familial abuse and the gender dynamics of the family and how financial constraints on women in the family impeded reporting of sexual abuse

Criminology · Harm · Sociology · Child Welfare and Adoption · Homelessness and Social Issues · Migration, Health and Trauma · Psychology · Social Psychology

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