With support from AFAS: more support for children affected by femicide
Thanks to a donation from the AFAS Foundation, Leiden University is launching a new project in September for children who have lost their mothers to intimate partner (or ex-partner) homicide. The donation will fund the first steps of the project and provide the foundation for work that will have a lasting impact in the years ahead.
The project will be led by Marieke Liem, Martín Hernán Di Marco and Esmée Ilisia Turpijn from the Violence and Violence Prevention group at the Institute of Security and Global Affairs. The researchers will generate new insights and develop a publicly available intervention toolkit to help family members, carers and professionals support this often overlooked group of children.
Turpijn: ‘Based on our Femicide Monitor, we estimate that hundreds of children have lost a parent to intimate partner or ex-partner homicide. Thanks to the financial support pledged by the AFAS Foundation, we will be able to carry out additional research into this group of children over the coming year. This is urgently needed because they have received relatively little targeted attention so far, despite facing a range of challenges in the aftermath of the homicide. We’re delighted to receive this grant from the AFAS Foundation. It will enable us to develop an intervention toolkit that provides children, their carers and healthcare professionals with more information, better guidance and greater clarity.’
Forgotten children
On average, 26 people are killed by a current or former intimate partner each year in the Netherlands. Behind these distressing cases is a group that is often overlooked: the children whose mother was killed by their father. They lose not only their mothers, but often their fathers as well because they are imprisoned or die by suicide. Many of these children were also exposed to domestic violence for a long period before losing their mothers and were sometimes direct or indirect witnesses to the fatal violence.
Their young age, divided loyalties and the focus of the criminal justice system on the victim and perpetrator mean that these children do not always receive the attention they need. In addition, knowledge and information about their situation are fragmented, leaving professionals and carers without a clear understanding of where to seek guidance and support.
From research to practical support
The research will examine the experiences and needs of surviving children, their carers and professionals. The researchers will combine academic literature, data from the Femicide Monitor and interviews with those involved.
The insights gained will be translated into a publicly available intervention toolkit. This will provide background information on intimate partner and ex-partner homicide, describe the different stages following a homicide and provide an overview of relevant organisations and their roles. The toolkit will also include practical resources such as case studies, conversation cards and fact sheets to help professionals support children and their families.
‘It’s almost unimaginable what some children in our country go through. They lose their mothers to femicide, often after a long period of violence, and are then left in a situation in which appropriate support cannot be taken for granted. We want to be there for these children. By supporting this toolkit, we want to help ensure that they are no longer invisible and that people around them have a better understanding of the support that they need, so that every child feels seen, heard and supported.’
Roos Nolet, Director of AFAS Foundation
Investing in a lasting impact
The first pilot version of the intervention toolkit is expected to be available a year after the project launches. It is thanks to the support of the AFAS Foundation that this important research can begin. The ambition extends beyond this initial phase: the researchers aim to further develop, evaluate and expand the toolkit in the years ahead, ensuring that knowledge remains available to the children, families and professionals affected by this distressing phenomenon.
Building tomorrow together
The LUF brings together philanthropy and academic impact. Through the LUF, your fund or foundation can contribute directly to projects that align with your mission, values and objectives. We look forward to exploring how your support can make a difference.
For more information and advice, please contact Madelon Rolleman at m.e.rolleman@luf.leidenuniv.nl or 06 3427 8841.
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