How do Children who live with domestic violence view, experience and understand the idea of home?

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Domestic Violence is known to have a negative impact on children, regardless of whether they have been directly hurt themselves. My PhD research focusses on the how living with domestic violence effects how children view, experience and understand the idea of home and the research looks at both immediate and long term impacts. The aim of the Fellowship will be to build on the research completed by sharing it in different ways and through different mediums, making links with other organisations and academics, and doing some additional research which includes looking at the impact of covid. The research involved interviews with professionals working in housing and domestic violence services respectively. The research also involved talking to adults who had lived with domestic violence as children. The whole focus of the research centred on how domestic violence effects the real and imagined ideas of home people, and especially children, think of and experience. All of the research was carried out through the lens of the home and that has created a unique contribution to knowledge about how children live, day to day in circumstances of domestic violence. This day-to-day understanding has highlighted more insidious elements of the effects of domestic violence on children, namely coercive control. Some of the findings in relation to children's resilience and agency have overlapped with previous research (Callaghan et al, 2017, Callaghan et al, 2018: Katz, 2016) in that children have been shown to not just be passive witnesses to domestic violence but are active players in their own lives by taking action or choosing not to. This research has been able to add layers to these ideas, by observing that sometimes children act, as a result of lack of action by adults, meaning they 'have' to do something to keep themselves or somebody else safe. This has been uncovered as a result of the research's unique focus on home. This research has shown how domestic violence can interfere with, and sometimes devastate any reality or concept of home, that is recognised as positive. The research shows how experiences continue to colour 'home' long after the situation has ended. The research also demonstrates how policies regarding welfare and housing can exacerbate these problems when they are happening, but also in the longer term. This research is keen to demonstrate desired links between well-being and housing policy (Clapham, 2005, 2010)The recent Domestic Abuse Bill (2021) is set to recognise children who live with domestic violence as victims in their own right. This is welcomed and has been called for by a number of organisations and academics. In light of this development, the fellowship could make some important contributions to the growing body of knowledge about children's experiences. As well as sharing my PhD research the fellowship will also generate new knowledge through further research which will include a social media campaign inviting visual and written comments about home, a children's art project, and further conversations with adult women with children, who have recently fled domestic violence. This further research will help to embed the findings and also incorporate, even in a small way, the impact of the pandemic, which cannot be completely omitted, for the research to retain its relevance. The fellowship will provide invaluable career development opportunities, many of which have been missed due to the impact of covid restrictions which has meant that my children (3yr old and 8 yr old) have been at home full time for much of the pandemic. These opportunities include enabling me to establish a track record in the publication of high-quality articles for academic journals based on the research; the deepening and broadening of my networks within academia, practice, and policy; and the advancement of my experience and skills in research and teaching.