Mothers who are in situation of domestic/family violence in the context of foster care for their children: the paradox of full protection

Abstract

This article analyzed the situation of vulnerable mothers who are vulnerable and victims of domestic/family violence, in the context of the foster care of their children by protection measures, as well as the main challenges of the support network. The methodology was qualitative through an ethnographic approach conducted between 2012 and 2015 at the Specialized Reference Center for Social Assistance and the foster care institution for children and adolescents in a town at Parana’s coast, Southern Brazil. The empirical results were discussed on an intersectional perspective with theoretical studies of gender, violence and public policies. We have confirmed the influence of the historical/social context on the challenge to recover the children´s custody, intensified by the perspective of social markers of difference and the different processes of inequality’s (re)production. We have observed that the intersectoral and territorial approaches still represent major challenges for the concreteness of a networked strategy in an integrated way, especially regarding the protection of mothers victims of violence.