Fatal care: Violent deaths of children in out-of-home care
The study will build up the first ever knowledge base on homicides and suicides of children in out-of-home care in four Swiss cantons between 1913 and 2012. In addition to case characteristics, the impact of relevant attitudes on supervision practices in and the authorities’ processing of these cases will be analysed.
Project description (completed research project)
The project investigates the violent deaths of children placed in out-of-home care in four cantons in German-speaking and Western Switzerland (1913–2012) as well as the role of the authorities within these cases. Assuming that negative attitudes towards placed children and, for instance, a positive attitude towards corporal punishment as an educational method increase the risk of placed children dying a violent death, the attitudes underlying supervision practices in and processing of these cases are analysed in addition to case characteristics. To this effect, we are not only taking the institutional perspective into account through document analyses (e.g., tutelary authority case files, legal provisions) but also the perspective of former placed children who witnessed the violent deaths of their relative(s) or friend(s).
Original title
"Fatal care": Violent deaths of children in out-of-home care in four Swiss cantons between 1913 and 2012
Results
The summary of the results for this project are available here:
Summary of the results (german) (PDF)
Summary of the results (french) (PDF)